Furm 


THH  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


•ary 


THIS   BOOn   rORMRRLY  BELONGED  TO  THE 
FRlVATi:   LIBRARY 

CHARLES  HALLETTE  JUDSON.  LL   D 


Class 
BuoK 


THE  LIFE 


JABEZ    BUNTING,   D.D., 


NOTICES  OF  CONTEMPORARY  PERSONS  AND  EVENTS. 


BY   HIS    SON, 

THOMAS  PERCIVAL  BUNTING. 


VOL.  I. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 

1859. 


^ 


^ 


TO 

"Tilt:  riiOPLii  cAixKi)  Mr.TnODiSTS," 

TO    WHOM    JAUKZ    liL-NTING    OWKD    SO    3IUCH, 

AND    IN  AVIIOSC    VELLOWSIIIP  AND    SERVICE    HE    LIVED    AND    DIED, 

Tins    RECORD    OF    lUS    LIl'E    AND    LABORS 

IS  GRATEFULLY   AND   AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED. 


653720 


PREFACE. 


Toward  the  close  of  my  father's  public  life,  it  was  his 
inteution,  frequently  expressed,  to  look  over  his  papers,  and 
to  destroy  all  which  might  furnish  materials  for  his  biog- 
raphy ;  and,  when  casual  allusions  were  made  to  the  possi- 
bility of  such  a  record,  he  often  threatened  that  he  would 
haunt  the  man  who  should  attempt  it.  As  age  crept  upon 
him,  however,  and  he  felt  himself  unequal  to  heavy  labor, 
other  thoughts  took  possession  of  his  mind.  He  gradually 
resigned  himself  to  the  conviction  that  the  story  of  his  life 
and  labors  must  be  told,  and,  after  much  hesitation,  he  took 
steps  accordingly. 

By  his  will,  dated  in  1852,  he  desired  his  two  elder  sons 
to  examine  all  the  papers,  letters,  and  correspondence  in  his 
possession  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  and  privately  to  de- 
stroy such  portion  thereof  as,  in  their  judgment,  it  might  be 
expedient  so  to  dispose  of,  leaving  his  executors  to  exercise 
their  discretion  as  to  what  use  should  be  made  of  the  re- 
mainder. 

This  bequest  seemed  to  convey  an  intimation  of  his  own 
wishes  on  the  subject.  Ilis  eldest  son,  of  whose  character 
and  talents  he  was  justly  prou(J,  was  a  minister  in  the  con- 
nection to  which  he  himself  belonged,  and,  should  that  son 
survive,  and  feel  competent  to  the  undertaking,  from  him 
might  be  expected  this  last  of  countless  offices  of  fihal  rev- 
erence and  affection. 

After  my  father's  death,  his  family  naturally  turned  their 


VI  PREFACE. 

cjcs  in  the  same  direction ;  none  with  iflorc  anxiety  than 
myself.  The  uncertain  state  of  my  brother's  licalth,  how- 
ever, and  the  pressure  of  duties  which  apjieared  to  him  to 
be  indisjx'nsable,  induced  him  positively  to  decline  the  task. 

It  was  then  for  me  to  consider  whether  I  durst  undertake 
the  necessary  toil  and  responsibility.  Unaccustomed  to  sus- 
tained literary  cflbrt,  and  occupied  with  a  han\ssing  profes- 
sion, I  too  should  have  left  my  honored  father's  memory  to 
be  embalmed  by  those  who  did  not  bear  his  name  but  for 
various  and  weighty  considerations,  some  of  them  of  a  prac- 
tical character.  Of  these  the  chief  was  that  the  papers 
could  not  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  any  other  j>erson  until 
they  had  undergone  the  scrutiny  and  partial  destruction  di- 
rected by  the  will,  and  had  thereby  been  diminished  both 
in  number  and  in  interest,  and  that  this  could  not  be  accom- 
plished without  long  delaying  the  publication  of  a  Memoir. 
In  my  ease,  however,  the  processes  of  examination,  and  of 
preparing  what  was  deemed  suitable  for  the  press,  might  be 
carried  on  simultaneously.  It  was  farther  to  be  considered 
that  I  could  make  .some  u.sc  even  of  papei*s  which  must  be 
ultimately  destroyed.  That  I  was  a  son  did  not  di.scourage 
me;  for,  if  love  is  blind,  so  is  justice;  and,  assuming  that 
my  conjecture  as  to  my  father's  own  wi.shes  were  correct, 
his  faultless  judgment  had  pronounced  against  the  objection. 
Nor  did  I  think  that  Jabcz  Bunting's  biograjiher  must  nec- 
essarily belong  to  his  own  profes-sion,  since  no  man  more 
diligently  sought  the  co-operation  of  the  laity  in  every  de- 
partment of  religioiis  service  not  exclusively  clerical.  I 
knew,  too,  that  I  might  rely  with  confidence  ujwn  the  faith- 
ful advice  and  kind  assi.stance  of  my  father's  oldcv'^t  and  wis- 
est friends, 

I  submit  myself  readily  to  candid  criticism,  an<l  shall  be 
dealt  with,  at  all  events  by  my  Methodist  readers,  jus  well  as 
I  deserve.     It  is  by  way  of  ex jilanation,  therefore,  and  not 


PREFACE.  vii 

of  apology,  tliat  I  add  one  observation.  My  chief  aim  has 
been  to  make  the  work  interest inL*",  and,  as  reflecting  my  fa- 
ther's opinions,  usefid  to  his  own  religious  community ;  but 
I  have  not  forgotten  that  his  name  and  reputation  extended 
beyond  it. 

With  the  original  view  of  avoiding  delay,  the  first  vol- 
ume is  now  published  separately,  not  without  hope  that  it 
may  elicit  suggestions  which  may  make  the  second  more 
worthy  of  its  subject  and  of  the  public  favor.  Until  that 
volume  shall  appear,  I  postpone  the  expression  of  my  warm 
gratitude  for  the  prompt  and  hearty  aid  received  from  so 
many  quarters. 

Manchester,  May  5th,  1859. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

lARENTAGE    AND    KIXOnED. 

Of  humble  Oripin.— The  Peak  of  Derbyshire.— Birth  of  his  Parents.— In- 
troiluetion  of  Methodism  into  Derbyshire.— Joiin  Bonnet.— The  first  Ser- 
mon at  LMiehnurtoii.— Tiio  Marsdcns. — The  Lomiuscs. — Grace  Murray. — 
John  Nelson. — William  (Irinishaw.— William  Darney. — Conversion  of 
Mary  Uedfern.— Joseph  Rcdfcrn. — William  Buntinp. — Mary  Bunting''* 
last  bays. — Jabcz  Bunting's  Sisters.— Filial  Piety.— Letters  to  and  from 
his  Mother Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

INFANCT — CHILDHOOD — SCHOOL-DATS. 

Birth. — "Wesley's  Blessing. — Fragments  of  Autobiography. — Schoolmasters. 
— Marchant.  —  Clarke.  —  Hartley.  —  Bruadhurst.  — Pope.  —  Course  of 
Study. — Compositions  in  Prose  and  Verse. — Interest  in  Public  Affairs. 
— Appearance. — Schoolboy  Frolics. — Early  religious  Habits. — Dr.  Cor- 
nelius Baylcy. — Preachings  in  his  Father's  Garret.  —  Persecutions  and 
Successes  at  School 30 

CHAPTER  III. 

CONVEKSIOS. 

Baptism. — Early  Training. — Joseph  Benson. — Hesitation  about  joining  So- 
ciety .—Decision. —James  Wood.— First  Ticket  of  Membership 3G 

CILU'TER  IV. 

MEDICAL    EDUCATION. 

Dr.  Percival's  Birth. — Education. — Professional  Career. — Public  Life. — 
Works.— Political  Opinions.— Religious  Teneti;.— Dr.  Barnes.— Dr  Per- 
cival's Piety.— Letter  as  to  the  Sabbath-day.— Death. — Jabcz  Bunting's 
Connection  with  Dr.  Percival. — Medical  Education. — Manners. — Dr. 
Percival's  Descendants. — Dr.  Edward  Percival.— His  Children 45 

CHAPTER  V. 

RELIOIOCS    AND   INTELLECTCAL    PROGRESS. 

General  Training  under  Dr.  Percival. — Influences  on  his  Character  and 
Opinions. — Religious  Improvement. — Formation  of  a  Society  fur  the  Ac- 
quirement of  Knowledge. — Rules. — Bard  of  Association. — Members. — 
Subjects  discussed. — R-says  written  for  the  Society. — First  E.xposition  of 
Holy  Scripture. — The  Prayer-meeting  at  James  Ashcroft's  House. — His 
End. — Jabez   Bunting's  first   public  Exhortation. — A  Prayer-leader. — 

Manchester  Sunday-evening  Prayer-meetings .">G 

A  2 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAl'TER  VI. 

TUAISIXO    FOR    THE    sr.UVICE    OF  MKTIIODISM. 

Ministers  in  curly  Life. — Murlin. — I'nwwm. — ^Lcc. — Thomiwon. — Taylor. 
— Ku<l«ln.  —  IIoiij>or.  — Adam  Clarke.  — Bradbiirn.  —  Matlicr.  — Uutlicr- 
ford. — BarlK.T. — Tlie  Coniu-ctiDiial  Disputes  of  17;».">  and  1707. — Jalx-z 
Banting's  Interest  in  thera. — Their  liftcct  ujmn  his  Opinions  and  Poli- 
cy  rageC'J 

CHArTEK  VII. 

CALL   TO   TIIK    CIIULSTI.VN    MINISTRY. 

A  Local  Preacher. — His  Doiilits  and  Decision. — First  Sermon. — Trial  Ser- 
mon.— E.\erciscs  as  to  his  Call  to  the  Ministry. — Correspondence  with 
Mr.  Mather. — Letter  announcing  his  IntL-ntion  to  Dr.  Percival. — Re- 
ceived on  Trial  at  the  Conference  of  1799 89 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

rROnATIOS    FOR    Tin:    MINISTRY   IN   THE    OLDHAM    CIRCnT. 

Commencement. — John  Oaulter. — Timidity. — Devotcdness  to  Study. — MLs- 
cellaneous  Ciirres|)ondence  of  Jiil>e/.  Bunlinjj,  Thomas  PiTston,  Georpc 
Burt<m,  Edward  Percival,  John  Ilcywood,  the  Steward  of  the  LivcqKxil 
Circuit,  William  Black,  Dr.  Percival,  Solomon  Ashton,  John  Crook,  and 
Jolin  Gaultcr. — Labors  and  Success  at  Oldham. — The  Burtons  of  Mid- 
dleton 105 

CIIAl'IKK  IX. 

PROBATION    FOR    THE    MINI.STKY    IN    THE    MACCLESFIELD   CIRCCIT. 

Ai>pointmcnt  to  Macclesfield. — E.vtcnsive  Circuit. — Dillicultics. —  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Allen. — Colleagues. — Jeremiah  Brettcli. — Thomas  Hutton. — Jo- 
Pt'lih  Entwisle. — Georpe  Morlcy. — Methodism  in  the  manufacturing  Dis- 
tricts.— Correspondence  of  Jalttz  Buntin;;,  Cicorjic  Marsilcn,  (laulter,  and 
James  Wood. — Oftcr  of  an  Incumhency  in  tlie  llstalilishcd  Ciiurch. — Let- 
ters to  a  Fcllow-jirohationer  and  to  Mr.  Wliituker. — Dr.  McAll. — Farther 
Corrosp)ndcncc  with  Dr.  Disney  Alixandcr,  Uoiurt  I^>mas,  Richard 
Recce,  and  f)thcrs. — Labors  at  Macclesfield. — Thouplits  of  Marriape. — 
Memoranda  in  reference  to  it. — Enpapement. — Sarah  Maclardie. — Ordi- 
nation.— Discussions  as  to  his  next  ApiMiintment. — Were  his  Orders 
TaJld? 120 

CILM'TF-K  X. 

Hl«     EARLY    .MINISTRY    IN    LONDON. 

Collcapucii. — Jr«eph  Taylor.  —  Benjamin  Rhodes. — William  Mylen. — 
Goorpp  Slf)ry. — Dr.  I^-ifehild's  Recrdleetions  of  Jnliez  Buntinv''s  first  Ap- 
pearance in  the  Metro|Milis. — First  Portion  of  Diary  sent  to  Miss  Maclar- 
die.— Committ<'e  of  I>)ndon  I'reachcrs. — Early-morninp  S•r^■ices. — The 
Penitents'  MeetinR.  —  Dr.  .lames  Hamilton. — The  EIo(|uenie  of  the  Pul- 
pit and  <if  the  Bar. — William  Jay. — Persecution  of  the  .Melhodi-.!  Sol- 
dier*.— Letter  from  Dr.  Percivnl. — Intcrcourcc  with  Joseph  Buttcrworth. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Wesley's  private  Library. — Letter  from  Entwislc. — Counsels  to  an  in- 
tended Wife.— Josej^i  Taylor  on  Sont;-binj;ing.— Tlic  Ciiristiun  (Jbscrv.r. 
—William  Huntington.— The  Claytons r.iRe  1 1'J 

CIIArTEU  XL 
KAULY  MisiSTiiY  IS  LONDON — Continued. 
Farther  Extracts  from  Diary. — The  I'ersccutions  in  Jamaica  and  at  Gibral- 
tar.—  Mr.  Fennell. — James  Laekingtou.  —  Henry  Foster. — Benson  and 
the  Christian  Observer.  — George  Burder.  — Dr.  Steinkopff.  — Joanna 
Southeote. — First  recorded  missionary  Sermon. — Prospects  of  National 
Inviision. — Kicliard  Cecil. — State  of  Methodism  in  London. — La.>«t  Let- 
ter before  his  Marriage.— Ordinary  Duties  in  the  Study  and  the  Puljiit, 
and  among  the  Flock !"'•* 

CHAl'TEU  XIL 

EARLY    MINISTKY    IN    LONDON Conclude  J. 

Marriage. — Letter  of  Condolence  to  Mr.  Entwislc. — Difficulties  at  the  Book- 
room  ant]  as  to  Missions. — Bold  Measures. — Connectional  Finance. — 
Young  Ministers  in  the  Metropolis.— The  Eclectic  Review.— John  Foster. 
—Triennial  Api.uintmcnts.— Henry  Moore.— Death  of  Dr.  Percival.— An 
old  Preaclier's  Wife. — Disputes  as  to  Singing.— Defense  of  Evangelical 
A rminianism.— Difficulties  in  accepting  an  Invitation  to  Manchester. — 
Earlv  Opinions  on  the  State  of  Connectional  Literature  and  on  the  Edu- 
cation of  the  Methodist  Ministry.— Earliest  Publication.— Close  of  his  first 
Career  in  Loudon -03 

CIIAPTEll  XII L 

HIS    EARLY    MINISTKY    IN    MANCHESTER. 

Ajipointment  to  tlic  Manchester  Circuit.— Colleagues. — .Tames  Wood. — 
John  Keynuld^.— William  Leacli.— Water  Gritlith.— Jabez  Bunting's  Re- 
turn to  svstemaiic  Study. — Rirtli  of  his  eldest  Son. — Correspondence. — 
A  Secession  from  the  ^Lanchester  Society. — Methodism  in  London. — The 
Conference  of  180G. — Election  as  Assistant  Secretar}-. — Letter  to  the 
Commissioners  of  income  Tax.— Mode  of  suj.porting  the  Methodist  Min- 
i^tr)-.- Tiiomius  Ilartwell  Horne. — Periodical  Meetings  of  the  Metho«list 
Ministers.— Robert  Newton. — The  Poor  of  the  Society. — Letter  from 
Rodda.— The  Conference  of  1807 239 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Ills    EARLY    MINISTRY    IX    SHEFFIELD. 

Appointment  to  the  Sheffield  Circuit.— Colleagues.— Death  of  bis  infant 
Daughter.— Ministers'  Meetings. — Tiic  Training  of  Candidates  for  the 
Ministry.— Samuel  Bardsloy. — The  Location  of  Ministers.— Conference 
pf  isos! — E.lward  Hare. — .James  Daniel  Burton.— Edmund  Grindrod. — 
Nightingale's  "Portraiture  of  Methodism."  —  His  Death-Ix-d. — The 
Teaching  of  Writing  in  Sunday-schools. — Letters  from  Griffith  and  Rob- 
ert Newton.  —  The  Sacraments  in  Jersey.  —  Codification.  —  Methi>dist 


Xll  CONTEXTS. 

Ministers  nml  rorinh  Apprcnticog. — The  RiKht  of  nttcnding  the  Confer- 
ence.— Cunforcncc  nf  hsO'J. — Hirth  of  his  iccond  Dauf;htcr. — Reminis- 
cences by  Robert  Ncwiou's  Widow Page  2G8 

CIIArrER  XV. 

IMS    KAItl.Y    MtXISTUV    AT    I.IVKIII'OOL. 

Appointment  to  LivcrjKHil. — William  Brmnwcll. — .Iiimos  Buckley. — Suc- 
cfs.'ifui  Ministry. — Corrc.sjK)ndcncc. — Ills  own  Letters  n.s  to  tenchinp  Writ- 
ing on  the  Sabbath. — Lcttirs  from  Moore  on  miscellaneous  Topics. — Dr. 
Mupee's  Attmk  upon  the  Mothodists. — The  Cjise  of  IJriphoasc  Chapel. — 
Manapcnicnt  of  tlie  Conncctionul  Funds. — Thomas  Hnnkin's  Bequests.— 
The  Death  of  Robert  Iy<imas. — The  Conference  of  1810. — Dr.  Clarke's 
Commentary. — Ix-tters  from  Kdward  Ilarc  and  Robert  Newton. — The  In- 
fluence of  Trustees  over  Church  Mana^^cment. — I>ord  Sidmouth's  Bill. — 
Richard  Watson. — The  Use  of  Ornnns  and  of  Liturgies. — The  Confer- 
ence of  1811 307 


APPKN  DIX. 

A.  Translation  from  the  Latin  of  John  Passernt 040 

B.  Mercantile  Ar^'umcnts  ajrainst  cleansinR  the  Stn-ets  of  Manchester  352 

C.  The  Lawfulness  of  bearinj^  Arms  in  defensive  Warf^irc 354 

D.  How  far  is  a  Person  sanctified  at  the  time  he  is  justified? 355 

I'^.  Directions  concerninp  I'rayer  and  l'rayer-mcetinp< 358 

F.  Samuel  Bradburn,  with  Notices  of  Dr.  Bunting;,  by  the  Rev.  Isaac 

Kcelinj: 3C1 

G.  Minutes  of  a  District  Mcetinj:  held  at  Manchester  in  IT'JG 300 

II.   A  few  plain  and  free  Thou^'hts  by  the  late  Rev.  Rol)crt  I^>mas 308 

I.  List  of  the  Texts  of  Dr.  Buntinf^'s  Discourses  prepared  before  he 

left  Macclesfield 370 

J.   Notices  of  the  late  Mrs.  Buniinn 874 

K.  Extracts  from  a  Statement  of  Facts  and  Observations  relative  to  the 

late  Separation  from  the  Methodist  Society  in  Manchester 379 


THE    LIFE 

OF 

JABEZ    BUNTING,  D.D. 


CILU*1^EU  I. 

PARENTAGE   AND   KIXDRED. 


Of  humble  Origin. — Tlic  Toak  of  Derbyshire— Birth  of  liis  Ptircnts.— Tn- 
trodiiction  of  Methodism  into  Derbysliirc— Jolin  Rennet.— The  first  Ser- 
mon at  Cljclmorton.— The  Marsdens.— Tiic  Loma.ses.— Grace  Murray.— 
John  Nelson.— William  Grimshaw.— William  Darney.— Conversion  of 
Mary  Iledfern.— Joseph  Redfcrn.— William  Buntiu},'.— Mary  Buntinp's 
last  bay.?.— Jabcz  Bunting's  Sisters.— Filial  Piety.— Letters  to  and  from 
his  Mother. 

Of  my  fatlicr's  ancestors,  so  far  back  as  I  can  trace  them, 
the  lieraids  can  tell  me  nothing.  I  read  in  quiet  church-yards, 
in  the  Peak  of  Derbyshire,  the  simple  story  that  they  were 
born  and  died.  In  that  secluded  district,  a  land  of  moor  and 
mist,  they  tilled  the  soil,  or  wrought  painfully  beneath  the 
ground  for  the  sustenance  denied  them  by  its  sterile  surface. 

In  1745  the  young  Pretender  marched  across  the  county,  ex- 
pecting, on  his  route  to  the  metropolis,  to  receive  the  homage 
of  the  aristocracy  of  England.  But  the  rustics  who  stared  at 
the  strange  sight  of  an  invading  army  were  soon  freed  from 
fear.  Within  a  week  thoy  watched  its  wild  retreat,  and  the 
failure  of  the  last  attempt  to  force  the  fortimes  of  the  house  of 
Stuart. 

During  the  year  just  named,  my  grandftuher,  William  IJint- 
ING,  was  born  at  Monyash,  a  small  village  of  gray  stone,  which, 
witli  its  old  church  set  in  lime-trees,  Hes  slee])ily  in  a  hollow 
near  the  road  by  which  the  traveler  passes  from  Bu.xton  to 
Newhaven.  My  grandmother,  ]\Iauv  Kedferx,  was  then  a 
child  five  years  old,  at  Upper  Iladdon,  some  three  miles  distant. 


1-i  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

It  Avas  Acry  soon  after  licr  birth  that  the  first  Methodist 
])rcaohers  began  their  mission  in  the  Peak.  Wesley  had  sent 
them,  not  so  much  to  the  masses,  ah-eady  partially  supjaUed 
with  Christian  ordmances,  as  to  those  "  who  needed  them 
most ;"  and  on  many  a  broad  parish,  and  into  many  a  dark 
hamlet  throughout  the  land,  the  doctrine  of  a  personal,  happy, 
and  active  religion  ilashcd  as  with  the  brightness  of  a  new  rev- 
elation from  heaven.  In  this  "  age  of  great  cities,"  let  not  the 
claims  of  the  few  and  destitute  be  forgotten — of  the  plain,  im- 
I^ressible  country-folk,  who  still  form  the  strength  and  staple 
of  the  English  people.  Such  was  one  of  the  latest  counsels  be- 
queathed by  Jabez  Buntixg  to  his  successors  in  the  work  of 
Methodism. 

David  Taylor,  Lady  Huntingdon's  butler,  Avhom  she  had 
sent  to  itinerate  through  Leicestershii'e,  extended  Ms  labors 
into  the  adjoinmg  coimties.  Durmg  a  considerable  period  he 
preached  hi  Sheffield ;  and,  Avhile  there,  John  Bennet,  of  Chin- 
ley,  in  Derbyshire,  a  yomig  man  of  good  education,  btit  of  un- 
settled habits,  who  had  come  to  enter  a  horse  for  the  races, 
went,  with  a  friend,  to  hear  what  the  preacher  might  say. 
The  sermon  did  not  produce  any  impression  on  him ;  but  he 
followed  his  companion  into  the  vestry;  for  mere  courtesy's 
sake,  asked  Taylor  to  come  and  see  his  parents ;  and  Avas  not  a 
little  annoyed  when  the  invitation  was  eagerly  accepted.  He 
did  not  wish  to  be  teased  about  religion  ;  and  he  knew  that  Dr. 
Clegg,  the  minister  of  the  family,  though  a  Dissenter,  disUked 
all  irregular  movements.  So  he  did  all  he  could  to  get  rid  of 
the  engagement.  But  the  Methodist  preacher  Avas  not  to  be 
thwarted ;  and,  after  a  ludicrous  game  of  hide-and-seek,  suc- 
ceeded in  paying  his  miwelcome  visit.  Within  a  short  time 
Bennet  was  a  zealous  apostle  of  Methodism.  In  1743  he  bc-r 
came  formally  connected  with  Wesley.  "Many  doors,"  he 
writes,  in  1750,  "are  open  for  preaching  in  these  parts, but  can 
not  be  supplied  for  want  of  jjreachers.  My  cii'cuit  is  one  hmid- 
red  and  fifty  miles  in  two  Aveeks,  during  Avliich  time  I  preach 
thirty-four  times,  besides  meeting  the  societies  and  visitmg  the 
sick."  Derbyshire,  Lancashire,  and  Clicshire  were  the  princi- 
pal scenes  of  these  arduous  labors. 

One  sermon  by  John  Bennet  AVTOught  great  Avonders.  Soon 
after  he  became  a  preacher,  Thomas  Bennett,  an  inhal)itaiit  of 


PARENTAGE  AND  KINDRED.  15 

Chelmorton,  two  niiles  from  Monyash,  spoke  of  him  to  some 
yomig  men  of  his  acquaintance.  "  When  I  was  a  yoimg  man," 
said  he,  "  the  '  Pmitans'  came  and  preached  at  Townend"  (the 
princijjal  house  of  the  village),  "  and  the  people  were  much  af- 
fected by  them.  There  is  a  man  called  John  Bemiet  who 
preaches  much  in  the  same  Avay,  and  the  people  are  affected 
under  him  in  the  same  manner ;  and,  if  you  will  get  your  fa- 
ther's barn,  I  Avill  invite  him  over."  John  Bennet  came  and 
preached  accordingly ;  and  the  father  and  his  four  sons,  togeth- 
er with  a  man  named  Lomas,  received  the  truth.  All  were 
steady  and  active  Methodists  to  their  lives'  end.  John  Mars- 
den,  the  eldest  of  the  brothers,  became  a  friend  and  an  adviser 
of  Wesley,  and  settled  in  London  principally  that  he  might  be 
near  him.  "  If  there  be  a  Methodist  in  England,"  said  Wes- 
ley, "  it  is  John  Marsden,  of  London."  Men  on  'Change  mark- 
ed his  sober  au" ;  and  a  caricatm-e  of  the  leading  cotton-dealers 
in  the  metropolis  portrays  him  as  bending  liis  knees  in  prayer. 
The  late  John  Thornton,  of  Clapham — Richard  Cecil  tells  the 
story — wishing  that  a  man  so  steady  should  extend  his  busi- 
ness, offered  to  lend  him  ten  thousand  pounds  on  Ms  personal 
security ;  but  he  declined  to  accept  the  kindness,  because  he 
feared  that  new  cares  might  ruffle  the  stilhiess  of  his  spirit. 
"  There  is  nothing,"  he  said  on  his  death-bed,  "  betwixt  me  and 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Among  the  descendants  of  him  and 
of  his  three  brothers  I  trace  five  clergymen  of  the  Established 
Church,  one  of  them  a  professor  in  an  English  Univei'sity,  and 
holding  high  Cathedral  preferment,  and  another  the  able  histo- 
rian of  the  Puritans,  not  yet  placed  in  the  position  his  talents 
deserve ;  the  late  George  Marsden,  for  sixty-five  years  a  Meth- 
odist preacher,  and  twice  president  of  the  Conference ;  John 
Marsden,  who  died  at  Manchester,  full  of  years  and  of  good 
works ;  and  the  respective  wives  of  the  venerable  Richard 
Recce,  for  sixty-three  years  a  preacher,  and  twice  president ; 
of  that  meritorious  student  and  author.  Dr.  James  Townley, 
also  president ;  and  of  Richard  Bealey,  of  RadclifFe,  in  Lanca- 
shire. Jewels  not  less  precious  are  to  be  found  m  the  casket 
of  the  Lomas  fimily.  To  omit  all  reference  to  those  who,  hav- 
ing "  used  the  office  of  a  deacon  well,"  have  "  purchased  to 
themselves  a  good  degree,"  the  grandson  of  him  of  that  name 
who  was  converted  mider  the  first  Methodist  sermon  at  Chel- 


16  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

morton  was  Robert  Lomas,  a  minister  remarkable  for  his  sound 
judgment,  incty,  and  zeal.  His  distinguished  son,*  still  living, 
is  the  fourth  president  I  have  occasion  to  mention  in  this  con- 
nection. 

John  Bonnet  either  adopted  what  are  called  Calvinistic  ten- 
ets, or  found  out  that  he  already  held  them ;  separated  hunself 
from  Wesley  and  his  societies,  and  became  the  minister  of  an 
Independent  church  in  Cheshire.  And  here  the  tale  of  his  use- 
ful life  might  end  but  for  one  memorable  event.  Grace  Mur- 
ray, a  widow  residing  at  Newcastle-upon-T^-ne,  young,  beauti- 
ful, and  well-educated,  was  one  of  Wesley's  OAvn  converts.  He 
appomted  her  to  be  the  matron  of  the  Orphan  House  in  that 
town.  Subsequently,  at  his  request,  she  proceeded  through 
the  northern  counties  to  meet  and  regulate  the  classes  of  female 
Methodists.  Like  other  itinerants  of  those  days,  she  traveled 
on  horseback.  An  old  man  once  told  how  he  saw  her  take  her 
leave  at  a  house-door  in  Yorkshire.  Her  horse  stood  waiting. 
She  came  out.  A  glance  of  her  eye  quickly  told  her  all  was 
right.  No  man  might  touch,  even  to  help  her,  for  she  was  on 
God's  errand ;  so  she  laid  her  hand  upon  the  conscious  beast, 
and  it  knelt  to  receive  her.  She  sprang  lightly  into  the  saddle, 
waved  her  arm,  and,  as  m  a  moment,  was  out  of  sight,  and  the 
old  man  saw  her  no  more  except  in  dreams. 

I  do  not  know  whether  Wesley  ever  saw  her  set  out  on  a  jour- 
ney, but  none  will  venerate  his  memory  the  less  that  he  would 
fain  have  married  her.  Charles  Wesley,  however,  and  George 
Whitefield  Avere  opposed  to  his  marrying  at  all.  John  Bennet 
had  once  been  sick  of  a  fever,  and  slie  had  waited  upon  him ; 
and,  "  from  that  period,"  he  thought  that  "  she  was  given  to 
him  for  a  wife."  Now  he  came,  not  unwillingly,  to  the  rescue, 
and,  without  any  communication  with  Wesley,  reaUzed  his  im- 
pression. Wesley  poured  out  the  sorrows  of  his  heart  in  a 
long  stram  of  passionate  verse.  Nearly  thirty  years  after  her 
husband's  death,  Wesley,  who,  it  is  said,  had  never  mentioned 
her  since  the  marriage,  went,  at  lier  own  request,  to  see  her. 
He  never  named  her  again.     She  died  at  Cliapel-en-le-Frith, 

*  "  Quern  er/o  citni  ex  admiratione  diUgere  ccepisscm,  qnod  evenire  contra 
solet,  vtarjis  admiratns  sum  jioslquavi  jieyiiUis  insj)exi." — Pliny,  lib.  iv.,  cpist. 
xvii.  A  friend  supplies  me  with  this  apt  quotation  in  allusion  to  my  old 
tutor. 


PARENTAGE  AND  KINDRED.  17 

Derbyshire,  ill  1803,  and  my  father  preached  her  funeral  ser- 
mon on  Psahn  xxvii.,  13,  14. 

"  The  day  before  she  died" — I  quote  from  a  manuscript  which 
he  read  after  liis  sermon — "  she  raised  herself  into  a  very  solemn 
attitude,  and,  with  most  striking  emphasis,  delivered,  m^  the 
following  language,  her  dying  testimony  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus :  '  I  here  declare  it  before  you  that  I  have  looked  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left— I  have  cast  my  eyes  before  and  be- 
hind— to  see  if  there  was  any  possible  way  of  salvation  but  by 
the  Son  of  God,  and  I  am  fully  satisfied  there  is  not.  No ; 
none  on  earth,  nor  all  the  angels  in  heaven,  could  have  wrought 
out  salvation  for  such  a  smner.  None  but  God  himself,  taking 
our  nature  upon  Ilim,  and  dohig  all  that  the  Holy  Law  re- 
quired, could  have  procured  pardon  for  me,  a  sinner.  He  has 
Avrought  out  salvation  for  me,  and  I  knoAV  that  I  shall  enjoy  it 
forever.' " 

The  annals  of  early  Methodism  in  Derbyshire  suggest  the 
mention  of  another  remarkable  name.  John  Nelson,  stone- 
mason and  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  whose  published  journal 
will  be  read  with  pleasure  by  all  lovers  of  the  English  tongue, 
as  it  was  written  by  Bimyan  and  by  Defoe,  was  one  of  the  first 
itinerants  in  the  county.  "  I  went  into  the  Peak,  to  preach  at 
Monyash,"  he  writes  in  his  journal  (edition  1852,  p.  80,  81), 
"  when  a  clergyman,  with  a  great  company  of  men  that  worked 
in  the  lead  mines,  all  being  in  hquor,  came  in  just  as  I  began  to 
give  out  the  hyimi.  As  soon  as  we  began  to  sing,  he  began  to 
halloo  and  shout,  as  if  he  were  himting  with  a  pack  of  hounds, 
and  so  continued  all  the  time  we  sang.  When  I  began  to  pray, 
he  attempted  to  overturn  the  chair  that  I  stood  on;  but  he 
coiild  not,  although  he  struck  so  violently  with  his  foot  that  he 
broke  one  of  the  arms  of  the  chair  quite  ofi".  When  I  began 
to  preach,  he  called  on  liis  companions  to  pull  me  down ;  but 
they  replied,  '  No,  sir ;  the  man  says  nothing  but  the  truth ; 
pray  hold  your  peace,  and  let  us  hear  what  he  has  to  say.' 
He  then  came  to  me  himself,  took  me  by  the  coljar  of  my 
shirt,  and  pulled  me  do\Ani ;  then  he  tore  down  my  coat-cuffs, 
and  attempted  to  tear  it  down  the  back ;  then  took  me  by  the 
collar,  and  shook  me.  I  said, '  Sir,  you  and  I  must  shortly  ap- 
pear at  the  bar  of  God  to  give  an  account  of  this  night's  work.' 
He  replied,  '  What !  must  you  and  I  appear  before  God's  bar 


18  TUE   LIFE   or  JA13EZ  UUNTING. 

together?'  I  said, '  As  sure  as  wo  look  one  aiiotlicr  in  the  face 
now.'  He  let  go  my  throat,  took  my  IJible  out  of  my  haml, 
and, turning  it  over  and  over,  said,  'It  is  a  right  IJible;  and,  if 
you  preach  by  the  S])irit  ol'God,  let  me  hear  you  preach  from 
this  text ;'  -which  was,  '  Wisdom  strengtheueth  the  wise  more 
than  ten  mighty  men  in  the  city.'  I  got  up,  and  began  to 
preach  i'vom  this  text ;  and,  wlien  any  oiVcred  to  make  a  noise, 
the  miners  said,  'Hold  your  peace,  or  we  will  make  you;  and 
let  us  hear  what  he  will  make  of  the  parson's  text.'  As  I  went 
on,  the  parson  said,  'That  is  right ;  that  is  trne.'  After  a  while 
lie  looked  round,  and  saw  many  in  tears ;  then  he  looked  at  me, 
and  went  away,  leaving  me  to  finish  my  discourse  in  peace. 
All  the  rest  of  the  circuit  I  had  peaceable  meetings,  and  the 
Lord  kept  still  adding  to  the  number  of  His  children." 

William  GRnisiiAAV,  too,  Vicar  of  Haworth,  was  an  early 
evangelist  in  Derbyshire.  Charlotte  Bronte's  Biography  has, 
in  our  time,  made  his  dwelling  a  })lace  of  fashionable  pilgrim- 
age. But,  for  nearly  a  century,  men  gray  and  grave  have  taken 
their  sons  and  their  sons'  sons  to  see  the  lone  stone  village  on 
the  Yorkshire  IMoors  where  dwelt  one  of  the  bravest  and  most 
liund)le  spirits  that  ever  graced  the  English  Church;  where  the 
terrible  but  tender  i)reacher,  in  the  rough,  ]ilain  language  which 
a  scholar  only  knows  hoM'  to  use,  warned  his  ]iarisliioners  to 
"flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,"  or  sat  Avith  them,  at  the  feet 
of  the  Wesleys,  Whitefield,  Romainc,  and  A^enn,  as  they  stood 
"on  the  broad  platform,"  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  church; 
and  whence  "he  was  followed  to  the  grave  ))y  an  immense 
multitude  of  souls,  with  the  most  aifectionate  sighs  and  tears."* 

Kor  must  I  omit  all  reference  to  the  name  of  William  Dar- 
xi:y,  ])robably  the  first  Scotchman  Avho  became  a  IMethodist 
itinerant  jtreacher;  the  fires  of  whose  youth,  rekindled  at  the 
altar  of  the  great  revival,  burned  with  a  bright  and  steady 
flame  during  a  long  period  of  extensive  labor.  Yet  he  had  his 
weaknesses,  most  of  which  he  exhausted  upon  a  volume  of  ex- 
ecrable doggerel,  now  fortunately  very  scarce.  I  can  not  find 
a  better  verse  in  it  than  the  eightieth  of  one  hundred  and  four, 
in  the  iirst  coin])osition  in  the  book;  and,  ceitainly,  it  ajipro- 
priately  concludes  these  notices : 

•  "Would  that  Rome  Birks,  Hftinilton,  or  Arthur  uould  roUcrt,  nrrnnpc, 
and  ]>ut)lish  tlic  nmttrinls  still  available  fur  ihc  lJiojrrai)hy  of  this  intrepid 
cliurcliman  and  Mclliodist ! 


PAKENTAGE   AND   KINDKED.  1".J 

"  Now  many  jjlaccs  here  and  there 
Do  loiij;  to  hear  the  soiiml,     , 
And  multitudes  in  Dcrln-shirc 
Have  the  llcdecmcr  found." 

Mary  Rcdforn,  my  lather's  mother,  was  the  first  Methodist 
of  her  lamily.  She  was  awakened  (once  for  all,  I  crave  leave 
to  use  my  own  ^Methodist  mother-tongue)  rather  by  the  sight 
than  by  tlie  licaring  of  a  strange  man,  who  stood  in  the  village 
street  at  Monyash,  and  earnestly  exhorted  sinners  to  repent- 
ance. Her  lot  in  early  youth  had  been  hard,  and  she  had  done 
her  duty  well ;  for  her  mother  was  hopelessly  infirm,  and  she, 
the  eldest  sister,  had  been  the  nurse  and  guardian  of  eight 
younger  children.  Yet  she  contrasted  the  manifest  sincerity 
of  the  man  she  Avatched  with  her  own  conscious  want  of  a  wor- 
thy aim  m  Ufe,  and  was  first  startled,  and  then  subdued  by  the 
reflection.  Street-preacliing  has  now  become  common.  Who 
knows  what  good — or  evil — may  be  done  by  the  manner,  air, 
and  obvious  aim  of  the  preacher  ? 

But  Mary  Kedfern's  conversion  was  to  be  connected  still 
more  closely  with  the  missionary  spirit  of  Methodism.  And 
with  what  a  mission ! 

"^.  13.  We  have  a  pressing  call,"  say  the  Minutes  of  the 
Conference  for  1769,  "from  our  brethren  at  New  Yoek,  who 
have  built  a  preaching-house,  to  come  over  and  help  them. 
Who  is  willing  to  go  ? 

"yl.  RiCHAED  BoARDMAN  and  Joseph  Pilmoor. 

"(2-  l-^-  Wh^'^t  can  we  do  farther  in  token  of  our  brotherly 
love  ? 

"^,  Let  us  now  make  a  collection  among  ourselves. 

"This  was  immediately  done ;  and  out  of  it  fifty  pounds  were 
allotted  toward  the  papnent  of  their  debt,  and  about  twenty 
pounds  given  to  our  brethren  for  theii-  passage." 

One  afternoon,  soon  after  this  Conference,  Richard  Board- 
man,  with  some  portion  of  the  twenty  i)ounds  ui  his  pocket, 
traveled,  on  horseback,  through  the  Peak  of  Derbyshire,  on  the 
road  from  his  previous  circuit  in  the  Dales  of  Yorkslm-e  and  of 
Durham,  by  way  of  Bristol,  to  Xew  York.  When  he  reached 
Monyash,  he  asked  whether  there  were  any  Methodists  in  the 
place,  and  was  directed  to  a  cottager,  Avho  gladly  received  him 
for  the  night.     Of  course  he  preached.    Who  can  wonder  that, 


20  TJIE   LlFi:   OV  JAHEZ   BL'NTINlJ. 

as  lie  )>urstio«l  his  solitary  journov,  the  heart  of  the  missionary 
to  Anieriea,  sa<l<U'iU'«l  hy  tlie  rt-fent  loss  of  his  wife,  dwelt  de- 
voutly on  M«»nls  like  these:  "  Am)  .Tahiti:  was  moue  hoxoka- 

BLE  THAN  IMS  mamiltEX  ;  AND  HIS  MOTHKIl  CALLEP  HIS  NAME 
JaBKZ,  saving,  UeCAUSE  I  HAKE  HIM  WITH  SOUKOW.  AXD  Ja- 
«EZ  CALIJCI)  ON  THE  GoD  OF  ISKAEI^  SAYING,  Oil  THAT  TuOU 
AVOII.DKST    HI.I->S    MK    INDKKO,    AND    ENLAIKiE    MV    COAST,   ANI» 

THAT  Think  hanu  mi»;ht  ijk  with  mk,  am>  that  Thou  woili>- 

EST  KEEP  ME  FKOM   EVIL,  THAT  IT  MAY  NOT  C.IHEVE  ME !       AnD 

God  gkanted  uim  that  which  he  KEtiUESTKD."  (1  Chrou., 
iv.,  9,  10.) 

This  was  his  text  Avhen  he  ]>reaehod  that  eveniii!?;  "and  (iod 
granted  him,"  even  then,  in  tit  nK-asurc,  "that  whieh  he  re- 
quested." From  that  seiTiion  3Iary  liedfern ''  learned  the  way 
of  God  more  jierfeetly ;"  and  she  soon  afterward  foun»l  "peace 
with  God."  The  "  sorrowful"  name  in  the  text  thus  became 
associated  in  her  mind  with  her  hitxhest  "Joy  and  irladness ;" 
and,  ten  years  afterward,  she  trave  it  to  her  tirst  an«l  only  son, 
a  soleimi  record  of  her  pious  gratitude,  and  a  presage,  not  then 
understood,  of  liis  future  character  and  history. 

She  became  at  once  a  very  firm  and  lively  Methodist.  Tier 
first  class-leader  was  Thumas  Lomas,  whose  father  heard  John 
lii-nnet  jirc-at-h  at  C'hcluioiton.  At  home,  where  she  was  the 
real  mistres.'i,  she  stood  stanchly  by  her  new  profession.  She 
threw  the  j>laying  cards  of  her  gay  brother  George  into  the  fire 
in  the  sight  of  him  and  of.  liis  comj»ani(tns.  Alterward  slie 
tended  him,  as  he  died  slowly  of  constunjition,  and  ]>ut  into  his 
lijis  the  words  of  penitence  and  prayer.  Her  fatlu-r,  taught, or 
left  untaught  by  the  clergyman  wliom  Nelson  route«l,  became 
her  bitter  )»ersecutor.  IJut  she  maintaine<l  a  steadfast  coui*se. 
And  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  listened  to  the  jireaching 
of  the  stone-mason  m«'lt«'<l  within  ihem  when  that  same  clergy- 
luan,  returning  fmm  duty  oiu-  dark  Sabl»alh  night,  and,  as  was 
whispcreil  through  all  the  country  si«le,  blindly  dnmk,  was 
thrown  liy  his  horse  down  a  fi-arful  7or  into  l.ark-llill  Dale, 
and  if,  roused  by  mortal  agony,  he  crie<l  for  help,  was  heard  by 
noiH-  but  the  merciful  (if»d  in  heaven. 

While  the  jMTsecut i«»n  lasted,  h<»wever,  Mary  He<lfern  w:is 
greatly  harassed.  Once  she  left  her  home,  and  walk<'d  th(! 
thirtv  niilcH  to  Manchester;  but  conscience  soon  sent  her  back 


PARENTACK   ANT)   KIXPREI).  21 

again  to  work ;  and  it  was  not  luitil  after  her  niotlier's  death 
that  she  went  ))criuaiiently  to  reside  in  that  place.  Tliere  she 
entered  into  scrvicr,  lirst,  with  Mr.  Brocklchurst,  a  j)hiin  Meth- 
odist tVoin  Clu'lniortnn,  a\1io  had  risen  io  great  afHucnce,  at 
whose  huuse  she  often  waited  uj)on  ^Ir.  Wesley  ;  and  afterward 
with  Lancelot  Harrison,  and  probably  with  other  preachers,  at 
their  rooms  connected  with  the  i)reachini^-hoiisein  Birchin  Lane. 
Her  father  also  removed  to  Manchester,  and  lor  some  time  she 
again  took  charge  of  his  family. 

Her  brother,  Jose])h  Ivedfern,  too,  followed  her.  lie  had  al- 
ways been  a.s  a  child  to  her.  She  took  liim  to  ehurcli  and 
chapel,  and  talked  tenderly  to  him  about  his  sonl,  and  he  be- 
came an  eminently  holy  and  useful  man.  He  repaid  in  full  his 
sister's  khidness  ])y  fond  attentions  in  after  years  to  his  young 
nephew.  He  died  well ;  and  God's  blessing  was  upon  his  de- 
scendants, two  of  whom  honorably  sustain  the  pastoral  office 
in  the  Established  Church.  Two  of  his  children  emigrated  to 
Canada,  and  l)ecame  zealous  Methodists  there;  and  it  is  through 
the  marriage  of  one  of  these  with  an  excellent  missionary,  the 
late  Kev.  liichard  Pope,  that  my  father  traced  a  distant  con- 
nection with  the  family  of  that  name  in  the  West  of  England, 
which  has  made  so  rich  a  contribution  to  the  ranks  of  the  rising 
Methodist  ministry. 

La  1778,  Mary  Kcdfern,  after  a  long  courtship,  was  married 
to  William  Bmituig,  then  settled  as  a  tailor  in  Manchester. 
The  notices  presei-ved  of  him  are  scanty.  In  person  he  was 
tall  and  thin,  pale-faced,  and  very  bald.  He  is  described  by 
some  as  a  man  of  great  shrewdness,  by  others  as  not  of  strong 
intellect.  He,  too — it  is  not  known  by  what  means — had  be- 
come tirmly  attached  to  the  new  sect.  It  is  said  that  he  warm- 
ly espoused  the  cause  of  the  first  French  Revolutionists ;  but 
this  svTiipathy  was  shared  by  many  tailors  and  by  some  philos- 
ophers. There  is  no  doubt  that  he  Avas,  even  in  those  days,  a 
thorough  IJadical.  But  he  kej)!  his  poHtics  to  himself,  and  was 
known  to  the  Avorld  aromid  him  only  as  a  quiet  and  a  godly 
man,  who  worked  hard  for  his  family,  with  but  little  profit.  He 
had  been  bom  a  t^Wu,  and  had  suftered  much  during  his  ap- 
prenticeship ;  and  the  gossijis  said  it  was  therefore  that  in  his 
fifty-first  year  he  began  to  droop.  I  collect  some  information 
as  to  this  period  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Ins  eldest  daughter 


22  THE   LTFK   OP  JAHEZ   BUNTTXO. 

hy  lior  hrnllicr,  tlicii  :\  youth  of  ei^litocn.  Etlniiind  liurkc 
waiU'il  1»ittcrly  at  liis  son's  crravc-sidi'  that  lir  was  ])ayintx  tliose 
satTcd  ollic'is  c)l" alVection  which  himself  ou;;ht  to  have  reeeived 
from  the  dej>artcd.  I  think  of  my  praiulfather's  hap])icr  lot 
when  I  read  this  hMter,  breatliin*;  rather  a  inutlicr's  care  for  a 
sick  cliild  than  ft  hoy's  rou^li  kiinhicss  for  his  father.  It  ilhis- 
trates,  also,  the  writer's  characteristic  attention  to  the  smallest 
details  of  whatever  busiuess  he  took  in  hand.  1  .sulyoui  ex- 
tracts only. 

"  >ranrhc'stcr,  July  1st,  1797. 

"Mv  vv.XK  SiSTEK, — This  letter  will  be  conveyed  to  you  by 
our  dear  and  hiirhly-valued  father,  who  intends  to  set  out  for 
Macclestield  to-niijht  in"  (illegible)  ''  coach.  ^ly  luicle  would 
doubtless  inform  you  that  I  wrote  to  liim  on  Thui-sday  even- 
inir,  to  acfjuaint  him  and  you  that  the  jouniey  to  liimconi, 
which  was  lirst  thoui;ht  of,  was  i^iven  u]}  by  the  advice  of  Dr. 
Pereival,  and  an  excursion  to  Macclestield  determined  upon  in 
its  stead.  The  reasons  which  induced  Dr.  I'crcivid  to  prefer 
Macclesfield  to  Kunconi  my  father  Avill  explain  to  you.  The 
l)rincipal  of  them  were  that,  since,  if  my  father  had  tronc  to 
Jiimcorn,  my  mother  must  necessarily  have  accompanied  him, 
the  al)sence  of  them  l)oth  would  have  ])roduced  very  great  and 
inmecessary  inconvenience  at  home;  that  my  father's  mind 
would  liave  been  on  that  aeeomit  so  uneasy  and  dissatisfied  as 
perhaps  to  ])revent  any  good  elU-cts  from  the  journey  ;  and  th.at 
at  Macclestield  he  would  have  the  advantage  of  your  nursing 
and  attention,  and  l)e  among  those  with  whom  he  could  1)0 
free,  and  of  whose  kindness  he  could  avail  himself  to  procure 
for  hini  any  little  thing  he  might  want,  without  any  luixiety  or 
fatigiu'  to  hinjself. 

"  Vou  will  perceive  how  weak  and  low  my  father  is  now  re- 
duced. Dr.  iVrcival,  however,  tells  nu-  that,  by  the  assistance 
of  gf»od  air,  which  he  will  enjoy  at  ]NIacclestield  vastly  better 
than  at  Manchester,  together  with  nourishing  diet,  and  some 
strcngthcnireg  medi<-ines  which  he  has  prescribed,  tin-re  is  nnieh 
probability  that  his  health  will  be,  in  time,  consi<lcrably  re- 
stored. This  jilan,  however,  will  re<piire  constant  care  and  dil- 
igence. When  you  consider  the  uns|»eakable  value  of  my  fa- 
ther's life  to  otir  f:imily  in  the  present  circumstances,  I  am  sure 
you  will  do  all  that  lies  in  your  power  to  preserve  it;  and  that 


PARENTAGE  AND  KINDRED.  23 

you  will  spare  no  jciiiis  in  jtroourin^  hiia  siuli  accommodations 
as  will  make  him  eomlortable,  and  in  persuading  him  to  use  all 
means  that  are  likely  to  be  ofserviee  to  him. 

"  My  uncle's  rooms" (illepble)  "  close  and  confined  fur 

my  father  in  his  ])i-esent  state.  We  must,  therefore,  earnestly 
request  you  to  make  iiKiuiry  without  delay  for  a  bed  in  a  more 
airy  situation.  The  neighborhood  of  jNIr.  SimjisoiTs  church 
wovdd  answer  excellently  Avell,  if  you  could  procure  a  proper 
and  comfortable  place.  Perhaps  John  Bcrcsford  could  let  you 
have  a  bed ;  but,  as  my  father  is  micommonly  weak  and  low 
when  he  rises  in  the  muniiufr,  I  fear  he  would  not,  at  first,  be 
able  to  walk  back  again  to  my  uncle's.  If  you  could  meet  with 
accommodations  any  where  very  near  the  town,  as,  ihr  instance, 
just  on  the  road-side  leadmg  to  Manchester,  it  would  be  by 
imich  the  best.  Perhaps,  hoM'ever,  it  will  be  advisable  for  him 
to  In-eakfast  at  the  house  where  he  lodges.  You  might  go  to 
him  about  eight  or  nuie  o'clock  in  the  mornuig,  taking  Avith 
you  a  little  tea  and  sugar,  and  so  make  him  his  breakfast.  He 
might  then  walk  to  my  micle's,  about  ten  or  eleven  o'clock, 
witli  tolerable  ease.  But  of  these  things  you  vriW  judge  ac- 
cording to  circumstances ;  only  I  look  upon  it  as  essential  that 
an  airv'  situation  should  be  somewhere  fixed  upon  as  soon  as 
possible ;  on  Monday  at  the  farthest.  Pray  do  not  neglect  this. 
"  Dr.  Percival  wishes  my  father  to  have  new  milk,  Avarm,  if 
possible,  from  the  coav,  every  morning  and  night.  This  Avill 
easily  be  accompUshed,  if  the  family  Avhere  you  jirocure  a  bed 
for  him  keep  coavs.  At  any  rate,  you  may,  one  Avay  or  other, 
contrive  to  get  it.  He  may  drink  it,  in  the  morning,  half  an 
hoiu:  before  his  breakfast,  and  in  the  CAening  at  any  time  most 
couA^enient.  Pray  i)ress  it  upon  him  Avith  eaniestness  and  con- 
stancy. 

"Ma' father's  food  should  be  light  and  easy  of  digestion,  and, 

above  all,  as  nourishing  as  possible A  little  Avine  would  be 

useful.  You  must  endeavor  to  persuade  him  to  send  for  such 
little  things  as  he  may  Avant,  and  to  strive  to  take  food  and 
other  nourishment  as  he  can, 

"  With  respect  to  Avalking  out,  you  nmst  get  him  into  the 
air  as  much  as  you  can  Avithout  fatiguing  him.  Perhajis  little 
and  short  walks,  frequently  repeated,  Avould  be  most  serv-icca- 
ble.     Caution  him  against  taking  cold. 


24  TIIK    LIFE    OK   .IA15EZ    lU'NTIN'G. 

"I  hnvc  now  to  state  our  very  earnest  and  particular  request 
that  you  will  be  jieculiarly  nttt-ntive  to  adnunister  to  liini  liis 
niedicini's  witli  re«^ul:irity  :ui(l  perse verancc 

*'  You  must  without  fail  Svritc  to  us  evt-ry  cithor  day  at  least, 
to  let  us  kuow  how  my  lather  goes  on.  ^^'rite  by  the  Loudon 
coach  to-morrow  evening  two  or  three  lines,  to  inform  us  how 
he  bore  his  journey.  We  shall  then  exiH-ct  a  farther  account 
of  him  by  Juhn  Beresford  on  Tui-sday,  and  by  IJamelt  on 
Thursday  and  Saturday.  You  must  nut  disajipoinrus  in  this 
respect.  If  any  matt-rial  eiiange  take  place  in  the  train  of  hi.s 
symptoms  that  requires  farther  advice,  let  me  know  as  Boon  as 
you  can. 

"  I  ouglit  to  liavo  before  said  that  I  ^^  ill  send  the  prescrip- 
tions for  the  various  medicines,  that  you  may  get  them  renew- 
ed when  done.  They  must  not  be  omitted  on  any  account ; 
and,  as  my  father  will  jierhaps  be  averse  to  have  them  renewed, 
you  must  aftectionatcly  ])C'rs»iadi'  him  to  it. 

*' I  liave  now  disi-hargcd  the  mehuu-ludy  duty  of  giving  you 
Buch  advice  and  directions  as  seemed  necessary  respecting  our 
dear  and  honored  jtarent.  To  thi*  kind  and  righteous  Provi- 
dence of  God,  and  to  your  affectionate  care,  "wc  now  commit 
liim;  not  without  much  anxiety,  but  with  fond  and  eager  hope 
that  the  inians  he  is  now  about  to  use  will  be  blessed  by  (iod, 
and  that,  in  a  short  time,  he  will  return  to  us  with  amended 
:md  improving  health.  In  that  case,  let  us  reeeive  him  as  re- 
stored to  us  by  the  merciful  disj)ensation  of  (Iod,  and  be  thank- 
ful to  the  I'an-nt  of  mereies  for  so  invaluable  a  gift.  Above 
all,  Jjray  much  for  him,  for  itu',  for  yourself',  ami  for  us  all,  that, 
however  tried,  or  afflict e<l,  or  se]»aratcd  lure,  we  ujay  all  meet 
at  l.'ist,  to  ])art  no  nuire  forever. 

"  IJelieve  me,  dear  Alice,  with  mialterable  and  cordial  at- 
tachment and  lijve,  your  frieml  and  biodier, 

".I  ami:/,  ikxTiNO. 

"P.8. — Pray  read  this  letter  to  my  inule.'' 

My  grandfather  ditil  within  three  nuwith'^  after  this  letter 
wan  written.  It  is  said  that  "his  spirit  hail  beconu'  remarka- 
l>ly  «lctacheil  from  this  world."  A  short  time  l)efore  his  death, 
he  sent  for  some  young  men  to  sing  and  pray  with  him.  lie 
sang  with  them  the  Htan7.a.s — "The  dying  Christian  to  his  Jsour' 


PARENTAGE  AND  KINDRED.  25 

— which  Alexander  Pope  little  thought  woukl  feed  the  faith  of 
many  a  dying  Methodist.  Tiien  he  hfted  his  arms  up  out  of 
llic  bed,  and,  with  what  voice  was  left  to  him,  exclaimed, 
"Glory  be  to  God!  (^jory  be  to  God!  This  is  thirty  years' 
Methodism !  l<]scaped  hell  and  won  heaven !  "What  a  won- 
der!" His  children,  "even  to  the  third  gi-iieration,"  bless  his 
memory. 

His  widow  survived  him  about  sixteen  years.  He  left  be- 
liind  him  liis  humble  furniture  and  some  cottages,  which  were 
sold  for  less  than  two  hundred  pounds.  My  grandmother  car- 
ried on  the  business  with  the  assistance  of  a  foreman,  but  he 
played  her  false,  and  she  soon  gave  it  up.  Then,  with  the  help 
of  her  children,  she  struggled  on  as  she  could.  She  became 
the  victim  of  chronic  rheumatism.  Six  weeks  before  her  death 
she  went  to  bed  for  the  last  time,  and  there  lay,  conversing 
and  singing  about  Christ  and  heaven  until  her  end.  During 
the  last  night  of  her  life  she  thought  she  saw  (perhaps  she  did 
see)  George  Slater  and  Peter  Jackson,  pious  friends  long  de- 
parted, at  the  foot  of  her  bed,  and  talked  to  them  as  if  mani- 
festly present.  She  solemnly  connnitted  her  family,  and  espe- 
cially her  little  grandson,  into  the  hands  of  God.  So  she  died, 
with  her  Bible  and  Wesley's  Hymn-book  imder  her  pillow,  on 
tfie  twenty-ninth  of  August,  1813. 

She  was  a  woman  of  excellent  judgment,  quick  jierception, 
firai  will,  and  very  active  habits ;  and,  if  somewhat  haughty, 
■was  yet  of  a  generous  and  tender  spirit.  Grace  subdued  her 
pride,  and  sanctified  her  various  faculties  to  the  service  of  God 
in  her  own  vocation.  Some  still  live  who  remember  her  as  "a 
widow  indeed;"  respected,  because  unjiretending;  and  punc- 
tual in  her  attendance  at  Oldham  Street  Chapel ;  a  tall  old 
woman,  in  a  long  black  cloak,  and  with  a  bonnet  of  the  invert- 
ed coal-scuttle  shape,  a  peculiarity  for  which  the  Methodists 
were  indebted  cither  to  the  Society  of  Friends  or  to  the  Mora- 
vians. She  left  two  daughters,  AUce  and  Eleanor.  The  latter 
died  unmarried.  The  former  became  the  wife  of  the  late  Kev. 
Thomas  Fletcher,  who  survived  her,  and  died  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore my  father.  His  great  modesty,  and  the  comparative  weak- 
ness of  his  voice,  prevented  his  taking  that  jilace  in  the  Meth- 
odist connection  to  which  his  good  sense  and  learning  justly 
entitled  him.     But  in  hard  circuits  he  fultilled  an  honorable 

Vol.  I.— B 


26  THE   LIFE   OF  JAUEZ   BUNTING. 

course.  To  tlio  last  ho  n-atl,  every  mominp,  a  oh.apter  in  tlic 
Hebrew  lUMe.  His  (inly  eliiM,  the  l\ev.  John  FK'teher,  also  a 
faithful  Methodist  minister,  has  furnished  nie  with  many  of  the 
.statements  which  are  woven  into  the  ]>recedini;  narrative. 

Many  ])roofs  still  exist  of  my  father's  reverential  love  for  his 
mother,  liefore  his  marriajxe  he  re<:jularly  j^ave  her  one  half 
of  his  income,  which,  hoard  and  lodi^ini^  heini;  provided  for  him 
wherever  he  chanced  to  reside,  never  amounted  to  twenty 
pounds  a  year.  In  his  poorest  and  most  i>inihinLj  days  after- 
ward, if,  indeed,  they  can  be  distinguished  from  the  rest,  he 
took  ui)on  him  the  sole  charge  of  eking  out  her  scanty  re- 
sources, so  as  to  i)rovide  her  with  comforts  at  le.-ist  etjual  to  his 
own.  The  charge  of  the  mnnarried  sister  also  was  a  heavy 
load,  but  cheerfully  bonie. 

His  letters  to  liis  mother  are  long,  written  with  more  than 
usual  care,  that  her  old  eyes  might  read  them  easily,  and  brim- 
ful, not  so  much  of  si-ntinu'nt  as  of  news  which  would  interest 
her,  about  Methodism,  public  events,  and  the  jjrecious  details 
of  domestic  life.  I  give  a  specimen  of  those  written  before  his 
m.irriage,  and  a  few  senteuces  from  another  sent  to  her  after 
he  had  become  :i  father;  and  I  add  one  of  her  letters  to  him 
.'uid  t<»  his  young  wife.  The  critics  will  not  blame  me  fi»r  in- 
troducing into  this  chapter  sonii-  rt-terences  to  a  later  period. 

"  L<m.I..n,  Mcndav,  Atip.  2nili,  iSttJ. 

"Mv  DEARKST  MoTiiKK, — I  got  into  the  TiUgraph  .at  Mac- 
clesfield last  "SVednesd.ay  evening  n  little  before  niiu*  o'clock, 
and,  bv  tin-  good  h.aml  of  (Jorl  uj>on  me  for  good,  h.ad  a  safe, 
and,  upon  the  whole,  a  ple.asant  journey  to  I^ondon,  where  I 
arrived  before  ten  o'clock  on  the  Thursday  night.  I  was  met 
at  the  inn  where  the  co.acli  stops  by  ]\Ir.  .lerram,  the  general 
steward,  who  conducte*!  me  to  his  hotise  in  Wood  Street, 
Cheapside,  where  I  :ini  to  reside  for  ;i  lew  days,  till  some  rc- 
jiairs  an«l  improvementH  are  comj)lete«l  in  the  house  at  City 
Koad.  For  the  same  reason,  ]Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor,  n«  well  :i8 
Mrs.TavIor's  mother,  who  lives  with  them,  are  oltlige<l  at  pres- 
ent to  take  u[)  tlieir  alxxle  in  the  house  of  .•»  friend. 

"Our  Hituation  at  tiieCity  Koad  Chapel  is  cxcciMlingly  pleas- 
ant, open,  and  air}',  and,  perhaps,  more  likely  to  be  favorable  to 
health  than  most  that  could  1>e  found  in  or  about  T.rmdon.     I 


PARENTAGE  AND  KINDRED.  27 

am  iiarticiilarly  jdcascd  with  my  own  apartments,  lusidcs  an 
excellent  lodging-room,  there  is  an  adjoming  study,  very  pleas- 
ant and  retired,  and  well  furnished  'with  proper  cupboards  for 
the  reception  of  books.  In  these  respects  I  never  was  so  con- 
venient ly  an<l  comfortably  circumstanced  before. 

"  I  have  not  seen  enough  of  the  circuit  to  form  any  pro])er 
judgment  concerning  it.  From  the  little  I  have  seen,  I  thuik 
I  shall  be  happy  in  it.  My  fellow-laborers  are  all  very  kind 
and  friendly  ;  and  as  to  the  London  ^Methodists,  if  those  with 
wlu)m  I  have  already  become  acquainted  are  a  specinu-n  of  the 
rest,  I  shall  be  (juite  charmed  with  their  spirit  and  niamiers 
when  I  am  grown  more  familiar  with  them,  and  when  the  pangs 
of  separation  from  my  beloved  friends  and  connections  in  your 
part  of  the  world  have  begun  to  abate.  At  present,  my  feel- 
ings are  unavoidably  those  of 'a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.' 
But  I  hope  in  time  to  acquire  greater  fortitude,  and  with  more 
ease  to  reconcile  my  affections  to  my  duty.  Li  the  mean  time, 
I  endeavor  to  console  myself  with  the  ])rospect  of  that  better 
world,  where  those  divided  in  time  shall  be  united  for  eter- 
nity  

"I  shall  be  impatient  to  receive  a  letter  from  you.  .As  you 
will  receive  this  on  Wednesday  morning,  can  not  you  send  one 
by  Mr.  Goodall  the  same  day,  under  cover  to  ^Ir.  Allen  at  Mac- 
deslield,  who  will  get  it  ibrwarded  to  me  inunediately  ? 

"  I  saw  James  Ridings  and  Mr.  Browne  yesterday,  after 
preaching  at  Queen  Street  Clia])el.  They  both  welcomed  me 
to  London  with  great  affection,  and  desired  that,  Avhen  I  wrote 
to  ^Manchester,  I  would  jiresent  their  kindest  remembrances  to 
you,  and  to  my  sisters  and  Uncle  Joseph. 

"The  ]ieop]e  here  are  far  less  alarmed  about  the  threatened 
invasion  than  they  are  m  the  country.  I  meet  with  noliody  who 
is  under  any  very  serious  alarm.  However,  they  think  it  best 
to  be  jirepared  for  every  possible  case,  and  therefore  are  volim- 
teering  their  services  to  government  on  all  sides.  Great  num- 
bers of  friends  have  joined  the  different  corps  that  are  firmed. 

"Tliis  letter  will  be  conveyed  to  Manchester  by  Mrs.  Bur- 
ton and  Mrs.  INXouncey,  whom  I  was  suqirised  to  find  in  the 
vestry  last  night  when  I  had  done  preaching.  I  shall  ^\Tite 
again  soon.  At  present  I  know  not  what  I  can  add  but  that  I 
am,  through  mercy,  in  perfect  health,  and  that  I  remain,  with 


28  THE   LIFK   OF  .lAnKZ    BUNTING. 

mialtcrabic  afloction  to  you,  niid  m  ith  llie  tcndcrest  love  to  my 
dear  sisters,  uiieles,  etc.,  your  ever  dutiful  sou,       J.  Bintin*;. 

"  P.S. — Best  respects  to  Mr.  Yates,  Mv.  Albiston,  and  all  that 
inquire." 

"  ShcflReld,  Sept.  29th,  1807. 

'Oh'  rtE.VREST  ^loTllKK, — "We  were  very  iiuieh  oblii^ed  to 
/Vliec  lor  her  letter  of  the  loth  instant,  and  glad  to  hear  that 
you  were  all  in  tolerable  health,  and  that  your  recent  indispo- 
sition, in  particular,  was  in  a  p:reat  measure  removed 

"AVillinni,*  avc  trust,  is  doing  well.  We  have  got  a  j)lace 
for  him  and  Sarah,  the  elder  servant,  at  Crooks,  a  village  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  us,  which  is  said  to  have  the  best  air  in  all  this 
neighborhood.  He  was  much  better  while  there,  and  is  only 
come  home  for  a  day  or  two,  during  the  bustle  of  quarter-day, 
at  which  Sarah's  assistance  was  w.anted.  The  rain  prevented 
his  return  this  afternoon,  l)ut  we  purjiose  sending  him  again  in 
the  morning.  He  is  in  high  spirits,  and,  were  it  not  for  an  oc- 
casional fit  of  coughing  (which,  however,  is  not  frequent  nor 
violent),  and  for  his  being  grown  thinner  than  usual,  we  should 
not  know  that  he  aile«l  any  thing.  We  have  little  doubt  that, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  hi-  will  get  rid  of  his  hooping-cough  be- 
fore the  winter  sets  in  Avith  severity ;  and  I  hope  you  will  see 
him  in  January  a  fine,  stout  lad,  as  lieretofore.  He  has  cut  his 
eye-teeth.  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  jioor-  Sherryf  cut  three 
teeth  the  week  she  died 

"  We  have  the  jirospcct  of  being  very  comfortable  here.  The 
circuit  is  agreeable;  and  Me  arc  from  home  only  two  nights  at 
most  in  eight  weeks.  But  the  best  of  all  is,  we  have  reason  to 
think  the  Lord  is  and  will  be  with  us.  We  are  exceedingly 
hajijiy  in  my  colleagues;  and  in  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newton,  especial- 
ly, we  have  two  most  agreeable  and  friendly  neighb(»rs.  Wiite 
very  soon.  Why  not  on  Friday,  in  which  case  ^Ir.  Owen,  the 
bearer  of  this,  wouM  bring  me  your  answer  on  Saturday  ?  Wo 
unite  in  love  to  you  and  my  dear  sisters,  J.  lirNTi.NC. 

"P.S. — William  has  lu-en  plaguing  me  to  give  him  a  pen; 
80  I  will  guide  his  hand,  an<l  he  shall  write  to  ^ou. 

"William  Madardie  Jiunting's  love  to  grandmother  .and 
aunts." 

♦  His  eldest  son.  t  The  pet  name  of  a  baby  ho  had  lost. 


PARENTAGE   AND   KIXDIIEI).  29 

[Without  date;  but  written  ahout  1804.] 

"My  dear  Jabez  axd  Sai-wVU, — My  neglect  of  writing  is 
not  because  I  forgot  you  —  no;  but,  knowing  the  great  fa- 
tigue, botli  of  body  and  mind,  wliich  for  a  long  time  you  must 
have  had,  I  thought  it  no  matter  to  add  to  your  exercise,  as  I 
had  tlien  nothing  of  importance,  and  as  you  heard  by  one  or 
another  that  we  were  still  in  the  land  of  the  living.  I  thank 
you  for  your  kind  remembrance  of  me,  so  often  as  you  do,  I 
could  indcctl  wish  that  my  house  was  nearer;  but  you  know  it 
is  my  hajipuiess  to  be  resigned  to  what  kind  l'ro\  idence  has 
denied.  I  wish  I  was  more  thankful  to  God  that  He  has  placed 
you  among  the  i^rinces  of  Ilis  people,  and  my  prayer  to  God  is 
that  you  may  be  found  faithful. 

"  I  heard  by  several  of  tlie  preachers  that  you  was  poorly, 
and  Avas  very  uneasy.  I  had  rather  always  know  the  truth  at 
first. 

"  I  did  but  see  Mr.  Lomas  this  morning,  so  I  can  not  now 
say  all  I  wish  to  say.  I  am  myself,  through  mercy,  as  well  as 
I  can  expect.  Your  sister  Alice  has  been  poorly  most  of  the 
sunmier,  and  Eleanor,  of  late,  has  not  been  very  Avell." 

After  my  father's  death,  I  found,  in  a  private  drawer  of  an 
old  bureau,  some  papers  which  he  had  marked  as  "  very  par- 
ticular." Among  them  Avere  his  iiither's  last  ticket,  and  the 
letter  announcing  his  mother's  death.  One  of  the  latest  walks 
he  took  was  to  see  the  spot  Avhere,  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
busy  Ufe  of  Manchester,  the  two  lie  quietly  and  lovingly  to- 
gether, behind  the  chancel  of  St,  James's  Chm'ch. 


oO  TilE    LIKE   OF  JAJJEZ   HUNTING. 


CllAFrEU  II. 

INF.^^CY^-CI1ILDII00D — SCIIOOL-DxVTS. 

Birth. — Wesley's  Blessing. — Fragments  of  Aut()l)iopraj)hy. — Schoolmastei-s. 
— Marchant.  —  Clarke.  —  Hartley.  —  Broailhurst.  —  I'ojie.  —  Course  of 
Study. — Conijiositions  in  Trosc  and  Verse. — Interest  in  Public  Affairs. 
— AppcaranL-e. — Sfhoulboy  Frolics. — Karly  religious  Habits. — Dr.  Cor- 
nelius Bayloy. — rrcachiugs  in  his  Father's  Garret.  —  Persecutions  and 
Successes  at  School. 

Jabiiz  Buntixg  was  born  at  tlie  house  of  liis  fatlicr,  ui  Xcw- 
ton  Lane,  Manchester,  on  the  evening  of  Ascension  Day,  May 
13th,  1799,  and  was  baptized  at  tlie  collesxiate  and  parish  (now 
the  Catliedral)  chin-cli  of  tliat  city  on  tlie  istli  of  July  follow- 
ing. 

The  only  record  which  has  been  preserved  of  his  infancy  is 
that,  when  he  wa.s  very  youiii;,  his  mother  presented  him  to 
Wesley  in  Oldham  Street  Chapel,  and  that  the  old  apostle  (who 
wonld  remember  her  as  having  waited  n])on  him,  not  long  be- 
fore, at  ]\Ir.  IJiocklehiU'st's  house)  devoutly  blessed  him.  There 
was  nothing  mmsual  in  this  circumstance,  for  little  children 
were  commonly  taken  to  Wesley  as  he  traveled  through  the 
laud.  I>ut  the  blessing  was  a  rich  one.  The  child  liimself 
cherished  it ;  and,  in  later  years,  often  told  how  he  used  to 
liear  Wesley  preach,  freqiu-ntly  on  Easter  Simdays,  and  at  si.\ 
o'clock  on  the  Ibllowiug  mornings  ;  and,  these  early  services 
ended,  to  watch  his  <lcpaiiurc,  in  liis  carriage,  on  the  accus- 
tomed round  of  labor,  lie  saw  hiiu  so  depart,  Ibr  the  last 
time,  in  1 790. 

The  first  notices  of  his  ednc'itiftu  are  to  be  found  in  "Jabe/. 
Ibniting's  accomit-book,  bought  June  'J5th,  17H7."  This  is  a 
manu.scri]»t  in  his  own  handwriting,  even  then  remarkably  good, 
containing  Rtatements  and  examjtles  of  the  juincip.il  rules  of 
arithmetic,  the  last  being  Practice.  The  sentences  are  careful- 
ly punctuated. 

About  eighteen  months  afterward,  farther  particulars  are 
gathered  from  a  little  book,  also  written  by  liimself. 


INFANCY — CHILDHOOD — SCHOOL-DAYS.  31 

"J.  B,  left  Mr.  Marchant's  school  January  the  8th,  1789,  in 
the  ninth  year  of  my  age,  -who  always  acquitted  liis  trust  to- 
ward nie  in  a  manner  Avorthy  of  esteem.  Tiic  lOtli,  went  to 
Mr.  Clarke's.  Bec^un  the  year  with  the  same  branches  as  be- 
fore, viz.,  Arithmetic,  English  Grammar,  and  reading  the  En- 
glish Speaker.    The  first  rule  Avith  Mr.  Clarke  was  Reduction." 

The  same  book  contains  the  following  entries : 

"  At  the  end  of  this  quarter"  (that  ending  in  March,  1 789) 
"I  am  in  l*ractice.  I  think  I  am"  ['■'■  soi/ieichat''^  struck  out, 
and  written  over  it]  "  a  little  improved  in  the  various  branches 
of  learning  mentioned  p.  1,  especially  in  Accounts." 

"At  the  end  of  this  quarter"  (that  ending  hi  June,  1789)  "I 
Avas  in  Exchange  with  America  and  the  West  Indies." 
"  Commentaria. 
"  Jabez  Bmiting. 

""Wednesday,  January  8th,  1792. 

"  I  again  begui  a  memorandum-book,  -which  I  have  so  long 
discontinued.  Mr.  Clarke  having  left  Manchester  about  Mich- 
aelmas, 1789, 1  Avent  to  Mr.  Hartley,  of  Princess  Street,  with 
Avhoni  I  continued  till  near  Christmas,  1791,  when,  he  Ukewise 
leaving  the  tOAvn,  I  was  again  obhged  to  change  my  school. 
However,  on  the  day  above-mentioned  I  made  a  beginning  with 
the  Rev.  Mr.  T.  Broadhurst.  It  may  be  here  necessary  to  i)re- 
mise  that  I  have  gone  through  Arithmetic,  Algebra,  Geometry, 
Mensuration  of  Superficies  and  Solids,  and  Conic  Sections ;  Uke- 
AAase  have  done  something  at  Latin,  having  gone  over  the  Ac- 
cidence, construed  about  eight  chapters  of  the  Latui  Testa- 
ment, and  corrected  some  exercises  of  bad  Latin,  extracted 
from  Clarke's  Exercises. 

"  Mr.  Broadhurst  professes  to  teach  nothing  but  Mathemat- 
ics, the  Classics,  Geography,  etc.,  and  he  thinks  it  better  that 
I  should  attend  to  Lathi  only,  as  I  had  not  even  learned  the 
S}Titax.  The  order  of  the  day  in  general  is  as  follows :  Fore- 
noon, repeat  the  tasks  assigned  over  night,  and  shoAv  exercises 
from  Exempla  Minora  ;  translation  from  Cornehus  Nepos,  or 
read  back  a  translation  into  Latin,  construe  a  portion  of  Cor- 
nelius Nepos,  and  parse.  Afternoon,  construe  from  Cornelius 
Nepos,  and  sometimes  a  task  from  the  Eton  Graimnar.  Hours 
of  attendance,  nine  to  tAvelve  forenoon,  and  two  to  five  after- 
noon.    I  suppose  a  writing  and  account  master  Avill  be  in  the 


32  THE   LIFE   OF  JAHEZ   lUNTINC. 

school.  Fcl).  24lli.  Tliis  aftonioon,  alter  li:iving  gone  again 
over  the  ^Vocidencc,  I  began  the  Syntax:  two  rules  for  my 
morning's  repetition;  four,  because  the  rules  are  so  short. 
Afterward  the  length  of  the  repetition  is  left,  to  Mr.  Broad- 
hurst's  (liscretiun. 

''^larch. — We  have  now  begun  to  learn  (ieography  from 
Guthrie:  generally  two  lessons  j)er  week.  I  also  began  to  con- 
strue Julius  C:esar  instead  of  Cornelius  Nepos.  In  Latin  I  am 
improved  much,  and  think  our  parsing  one  chief  cause.  I  be- 
gan French  likewise,  and  use  IVrrin's  Grammar.  I  get  this 
Thursdays  and  Saturdays,  and  one  night  per  week.  Mr.  Fell 
Ukewise  began  to  come  to  teach  us  to  Avritc,from  twelve  o'clock 
till  one." 

Side  by  side  with  these  fragments  of  autobiography  his  ac- 
counts are  entered,  with  the  saiiu'  minute  accuracy  which  he 
cultivated  during  all  his  lifetime.  They  show  the  purchase  of 
a  Greek  Granunar  and  Fables  toward  the  close  of  ^larch,  1792. 
Here  and  there  a  text  of  Scri])tiire  and  a  verse  of  a  hymn  are 
introduced : 

"Teach  me  Thy  truth,  O  Lord,  and  guide  me  in  th.e  way  "v- 
erlasting." 

"  Make  me  Thy  heavenly  voice  to  hear, 
And  let  nie  hive  to  pmy, 
Since  God  will  lend  n  j;riicious  ear 
To  what  a  child  will  say." 

Before  he  was  eleven  years  of  age  he  had  heard  liis  own 
voice  in  public.  "The  following  jiieces,"  says  a  printed  pro- 
gramme before  me,  "  will  be  recited  by  the  young  gentlemen 
educated  at  the  Connnercial  :iiid  Mathematical  School,  Man- 
chester, in  the  assembly-room  at  the  hotel,  on  I'riday,  iHth  of 
December,  ITsD;"  .and  there  follows  a  list  of  pieces,  comprising 
"The  Choice  of  Hercules,  in  seventeen  parts,"  in  which"  Hunt- 
ing" is  to  figure;  an«l  "  Philosophical  Melancholy,  by  Thom- 
son," which  he  is  to  recite.  A  similar  j^rogranunc,  for  the  fol- 
lowing year,  names  hiiu  as  the  principal  ])erformer  in  "The 
Pr.aisc  of  Philosophy,  in  eleven  jiarts;"  mid  in  ''Cnto's  Senate, 
in  five  parts;"  after  which  he  is  to  prunoinice  "  Adlierlial's  Ail- 
dress  to  the  Koman  Senate." 

In  those  days  the  schoolmaster  must  liave  foimd  Manchester 
a  very  bare  pasture ;  for  at  Christmas,  1 792,  Mr.  Broadhurst,  un- 


INFAXCY — CIITLDirOOD — SCHOOL-DAYS.  33 

dcr  whose  cliarije  tlie  preceding  extracts  leave  tlie  boy,  like 
Clarke  and  Hartley,  left  the  town.  The  following  letter  mtro- 
duces  my  father's  next  and  last  i)receptor: 

"  Mr.  Bunting^  Church  Street^  Manchester. 

"  Sir, — You  have  your  son,  a  youth  of  promising  parts,  \m- 
dcr  the  care  of  Mr.  Broadhurst,  who  is  going  to  quit  his  school 
next  Christmas.  As  I  expect  to  succeed  him,  you  will  do  me 
a  great  favor  in  permitting  me  to  have  the  same  care  of  him  as 
you  have  favored  Mr.  Broadhurst  with ;  you  may  be  assured 
of  my  best  endea^■ol•s  for  your  son's  improvement,  and  the  most 
aftectionate  attention  which  the  relation  in  which  I  may  be 
placed  to  him  can  justly  claim. 

"  As  Mr.  Broadhurst  knows  me  Avell,  to  him  I  refer  you  for 
any  information  you  may  want  concernmg  me ;  and,  with  the 
request  that  you  will  acquaint  me  whether  I  may  depend  on 
your  countenance  and  favor,  I  remain,  sir,  your  most  obedient 
servant,  Joiix  Pope. 

"New  College,  Uackncy,  near  London,  Oct.  19,  1792." 

To  Mr.  Pope's  school,  accordingly,  Jabez  Bunting  was  sent. 
This  gentleman  was  what  Mas  then  called  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, and  supplied  a  chapel  at  Blackley.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  however,  that  his  theological  opinions  were  very  difter- 
ent  from  those  with  which  the  term  Presbyterian  is  historical- 
ly associated.  Broadhurst,  also,  was  a  nunister  of  the  same 
communion.  IIow  it  came  to  pass  that  peo])le  so  strict  as  were 
my  grandparents  intrusted  the  education  of  their  child  to  men 
who,  out  of  school,  at  least,  were  preachers  of  Arianism,  I  do 
not  know.  It  is  iiiir  to  surmise  that,  if  competent  instruction 
were  to  be  had  at  all,  tlie  choice  lay  between  the  ancient  gram- 
mar-school, at  which,  perhaps,  seventy  years  ago,  a  Methodist 
boy  might  have  met  with  little  ftivor,  and  the  best  school  kept 
by  a  Dissenter.  And  it  is  certain,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
show,  that  the  lapse  from  orthodoxy  of  many  of  the  Presbyte- 
rians m  England  was  at  that  time  neither  so  great  nor  so  well 
understood  as  it  afterward  became.  But  all  turned  out  well 
for  the  pupil.  Mr.  Pope  was  an  excellent  scholar,  and  an  apt, 
laborious,  and  aflectionate  teacher,  and  was  strict  both  as  to 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  work  he  required  to  be  done. 

B2 


3-i  THE    LIFE    OF   JABEZ    BL'NTIXG. 

My  falluM-  oiijoyoil  tlio  bi'iu'til  of  liis  trainincj  for  nearly  three 
years.  The  Septuaixiiit  ami  llio  (ireek  Testament ;  the  Cireek 
anil  Latin  classics;  Entjlish,  Greek, and  Latiii  composition, both 
ill  prose  and  verse;  the  translation  of  French;  the  Psalter  in 
Hebrew;  the  correct  and  emphatic  readini?  and  recitation  of 
Eniilish;  (Tcography,  Astronomy,  and  the  elements  of  Natural 
Philosophy,  were  all  included  in  the  vurrh-nhnii  throujfh  which 
he  passed.  The  Bible  Avas  used  as  a  schoolbook,  b^lt  probably 
without  much  pains  being  taken  to  explain  its  meaning,  or  to 
draw  from  it  any  but  the  most  general  lessons  of  morality. 

The  young  student  AA'as  very  diligent,  and  many  comi)Ositions, 
still  extant,  attest  his  progress.  Those  in  English  prose  have 
much  of  tlie  accuracy,  chasteness,  and  freedom  which  marked 
liis  mature  style.  His  verses  in  the  same  language,  wlien,  un- 
der fear  of  the  rod,  he  Avandered  out  of  jjrosc,  Mere  tasteful  and 
correct;  but,  though  he  eventually  ])ossessed  a  high  oratorical 
genius,  even  a  son  can  not  detect  in  thes^ft,  his  enforced  exer- 
cises, any  genuine  poetry.  With  some  hesitation,  and  solely 
Avith  the  Avish  to  please  the  curiosity  of  intimate  friends,  I  place 
one  of  his  metrical  translations  in  the  Appendix.*  An  exceed- 
ingly rea<ly  penman,  he  Avas  in  the  constant  habit  of  extracting 
into  books,  and  on  scraps  of  pa})er,  Avhatever,  in  the  course  of 
Lis  general  reading,  struck  liim  as  Avorthy  of  preservation.  The 
engagements  of  the  school  Avould  not  leave  liim  much  time  for 
Avork  of  this  kind;  but  he  seems  to  have  gained  access  to  the 
magazines  and  newspapers  of  the  day,  and  to  have  taken  a  live- 
ly interest  in  public  all'airs.  His  a))iK'arance  about  this  time  has 
been  described  to  me  by  a  venerable  survivor.f  He  Avas  above 
the  lieight  of  most  boys  of  liis  age;  |)ale  and  delicate-looking; 
and,  though  jiossessing  very  shajK-ly  legs,  of  feeble  and  uncer- 
tain tread  and  Avalk.  lie  shot  up  (juickly,  and  sloojjetl;  and 
there  Avere  times  when  the  garments  of  olive-colored  velveteen, 
wliicli  wliould  have  clasj)ed  his  dark-gray  stockings  at  the  knee, 
refused  the  meeting.  He  Avas  very  modest  and  courteous.  In- 
deed, the  Ixjys  Avith  Avhctm  he  mixed  at  school  Avere  much  his 
su])eriors  in  Avorldly  position;  ami  this  state  of  things,  though 
it  never  made  him  servile,  naturally  fostered  his  humbler  vir- 
tues.    In  the  list  of  his  schoolfelloAvs  are  the  names  of  liayley, 

*  Aiipt-ndix  A. 

\  Tlionias  Duvcnj)ort,  Es<i.,  of  Withinpton,  near  Mnnchester. 


1 


INF.VXCY — CHILDHOOD — SCHOOL-DAYS.  35 

Smetluirst,  Harrison,  Percival,  INIarslancl,  Touchett,  Philips,  and 
Kobiiisoii,  then,  and  some  of  them  still,  borne  by  families  of 
great  consideration  in  Manchester.  Mr.  Pope's  terms  were  six 
giimeas  a  }'ear,  and  were  thought  very  high.  It  is  remembered 
that,  when  not  liard  at  work,  the  boy,  Jabez  Bunting,  was  fond 
of  frolic ;  and  those  who  knew  him  intimately  in  later  life  can 
readily  beheve  it.  Knocker-tying  on  a  dark  night  was  a  favor- 
ite sport.  The  friend  before  alluded  to  has  described  some  ad- 
ventures of  this  kind,  when  unwelcome  discovery  led  to  the  in- 
stant dispersion  of  the  offenders,  who  afterward  reassembled  at 
the  somul  of  a  i)reconcerted  signal.  He  tells,  also,  how  my  fa- 
ther indidged  in  tricks,  such  as  schoolboys  love  to  ])ractice  upon 
easy-going  masters ;  how,  not  very  quickly  or  often,  he  was 
found  out ;  and  how  Pope,  mstead  of  flogging  him,  used  to  take 
him  out  of  the  door  of  the  school  and  of  the  sight  of  the  other 
boys,  and,  placing  the  cheeks  of  i)receptor  and  of  pupil  in  loving 
contact,  beseech  the  lad  not  to  tease  liim  any  more.* 

His  parents  took  liim  regularly,  every  Sabl)ath,  during  one 
period,  to  St.  Thomas's  Church,  on  Ardwick  Green,  and  during 
another  to  St.  James's  Church,  m  George  Street.  The  Manches- 
ter Methodists  of  those  days  resorted  chiefly  to  the  church  last 
named.  Its  minister  was  Dr.  CorneUus  Bayley — the  same  who 
made  "Wesley  "  sick  of  reading  Hebrew  -wnthout  points ;"  whose 
Granunar  of  that  language  Adam  Clarke,  his  fellow-usher  at 
Kingswood,  bought  with  the  half  gumea  he  dug  up  in  the  gar- 
den there,  and  who  tried  in  vain  to  teach  the  sacred  tongue  to 
the  juvenile  De  Quincey.f  He  worked  kindly  with  the  Meth- 
odists, and  occasionally,  when  "Wesley  preached  at  Oldham 
Street  Chapel,  read  prayers,  and  assisted  him  to  administer  the 

*  Among  my  father's  books  was  a  copy  of  Baskcrvillc's  SalhiBt,  with  this 
inscription — "J.  Fopc.  Mancun.  1793.  Jany.  2Gth.  Given  to  Master  J. 
Buntinp  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  liis  scholarship." 

t  In  Mr.  De  Quincey's  fascinating  narrative  of  his  young  days  in  Man- 
chester, there  are  some  lively  passages,  rather  at  Dr.  Bayley 's  expense.  But 
the  latter  was  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman,  and  had  an  ear  and  a  heart,  as  even 
his  critic  admits,  sensitively  tuned  to  poetry.  The  great  master  of  composi- 
tion seems  sometimes  to  forget  that  the  words  which  he  moulds  like  wax  will 
last  like  marble.  The  passages,  however,  to  which  I  now  refer  are  chiefly 
remarkable  as  raising  a  doubt  whether  the  opium-eater  ever  heard  of  Charles 
Wesley's  hymns,  though  he  relates  that  one  of  John  Wesley's  nieces  was  his 
own  sister's  governess. 


36  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

sacrament  of  the  Supper — often  to  thirteen  or  fourteen  hiuidrcd 
comnuniio.ints  at  a  time.  The  service  at  clmrch  was  always 
prt'cnUMl  l)y  one  at  seven  o'l-loek  in  tlie  chapel,  and  followeil 
by  aiKitljcr  in  the  evenin<;  at  the  same  jdacc. 

My  father,  by  means  of  his  attendance  at  church,  became  fa- 
miHar,  from  liis  earliest  childhood,  willi  tlic  Liturgy  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church  ;  and  when,  almost  as  sown  as  he  could  speak, 
he  began  to  ])reach  in  a  garret  at  home,  he  jimictually  doimed 
one  of  his  father's  shirts  over  his  own  clothes,  and  read  the  serv- 
ice for  the  day.  He  did  not  play  at  preaching,  for  he  was  al- 
ways seiious  and  devout.  Even  then  he  ct)uld  not  tolerate  a 
disorderly  congregation;  and  if  his  sisters,  who  were  his  onlv 
hearers,  laughetl,  or  were  visibly  imjiatient,  he  always  sunnnari- 
ly  turned  them  out,  and  linisheil  his  exercise  by  himself. 

At  one  school  to  which  he  was  sent  his  schoolmates  found 
out  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  Methodist  tiiilor,  and  vexed  him 
sorely  with  the  double  taunt.  His  )»arents  conijtlaiiu'd,  and  the 
master  soothe<l  them  with  the  riport  of  the  l)oy's  talents,  and 
with  the  jiromise  of  his  certain  success.  When  success  had  been 
won,  things  took  a  dilferent  turn ;  and  the  mother  was  greatly 
pleased  when  the  sons  of  persons  in  superior  station  knocked  at 
her  door,  and  for  some  |)Urpose  of  pleasure  or  of  ad\antage,  in- 
quiretl  for  "  .Master  .labez." 

The  name  of  J*ercival  has  been  mentioned  as  that  of  one  of 
his  companions  .at  the  last  school  he  attended.  It  was  to  his 
intimacy  with  Edward  Percival,  the  son  of  the  late  Dr.  Thomas 
Pcrcival,  that  he  oweil  his  introduction  to  the  father,  and  the 
many  bonelits  •which  resulted  fmm  tliat  gentleman's  patronage. 
But  there  are  earlier  and  more  iiuportant  matti  is  to  l)e  related. 


ClIAlTi;!:   III. 

COXVKRSION. 

Baptifiin. — Enrly  Trnininp. — Ji.trj.li  Bcnion. — TTosifntion  nhont  jdininp  Ro- 
riftj-. — Derision. — .Iiiiins  WdoiI.. —  First  Ti<k<'i  of  M(iiil>rrslii|). 

It  wa'*  during  the  year  beibre  that  in  which  my  father  left 
school  that  his  conversion  took  pliU'O.  To  tlio  |>arficnlars  of 
this  event  ma:iy  in  his  own  and  in  other  ehurchen  will  listen 


CONVERSION.  37 

willintxly ;  and  it  is  possible  that  some  who  seldom  read  relig- 
ious biograpliies  may  ponder,  uot  without  advantage,  what  is 
now  to  be  written.  Every  man  deals  in  his  own  way  with  God, 
"the  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,"  and  with  the  truths 
which  concern  the  everlasting  future.  Here  is  the  case  of  a 
man  of  sense  and  station,  of  extreme  caution,  and  of  sensitive 
truthliilness,  Avho  testified,  by  lip  and  life,  for  more  than  sixty 
years,  that  he  had  acquainted  himself  with  God,  and  was  at 
peace. 

The  grace  sealed  to  him  and  to  his  parents  at  the  old  church 
in  :Manciiester,  when  they  ])resented  him  ui  holy  baptism,  rested 
blessedly  upon  tliom  all.  The  parents  kept  their  vow,  and  God 
graciously  kept  Ilis  covenant.  They  had,  for  the  child,  re- 
nounced "the  devil  and  all  his  works,- the  vain  pomp  and  glory 
of  the  world,  with  all  covetous  desires  of  the  same,  and  the  car- 
nal desires  of  the  flesh,  so  that"  he  would  "  not  follow  nor  be  led 
by  them;"  and  they  therefore  separated  their  son,  as  they  could, 
from  worldly  vanities ;  set  the  love  and  service  of  Christ  before 
him  as  the  real  pleasure  and  purpose  of  life ;  and,  taking  his 
hand  in  theirs,  walked  steadily,  and  as  of  course,  toward  heaven. 
Probably  he  never  had  any  other  ])revailing  thought  than  to  go 
with  them.  And,  accordingly,  "the  angel  which  redeemed" 
them  "from  all  evil"  blessed  "the  lad;"  their  "name,"  "and 
the  name  of"  their  "  fothers,"  was  "  named  on"  him ;  and,  ver- 
ily, he  grew  "into  a  multitude  in  the  midst  of  the  earth." 

Yet  the  grace  of  the  initiatory  sacrament,  though  sure  and 
present,  was,  in  its  very  nature,  but  the  ])ledge  of  a  greater,  and 
that  a  conditional  blessing.  "  Before  the  child"  knew  "  to  re- 
fuse the  evil  and  choose  the  good,"  grace  itself  could  not  effect- 
ually influence  the  choice.  Before  a  will,  conscious,  intelligent, 
and  free,  possessed  either  scope  or  power,  and  the  sense  of  ac- 
comitability  had  created  the  obligation  to  account  Avith  God, 
grace  had  been  expended  in  vain  in  the  eftbrt  to  make  a  babe 
into  a  saint — a  puny  creature,  scarcely  able  to  realize  the  sim- 
plest facts  of  being,  into  its  best  and  holiest  t}-pe  on  earth.  I 
conclude,  therefore,  that,  in  any  such  meaning  of  a  plain  but 
much  controverted  term  as  the  ]>rimary  laws  and  conditions  of 
spiritual  reUgiou  warrant,  my  father  was  not  regenerated  in 
baptism. 

His  conmmnications  on  the  subject  of  hi^  religious  experience 


38  THE   LIFE   VV  JABEZ   DL'NTIXQ. 

wrro  virv  liw  lunl  liiiif.  The  prayer  ami  liyinn  copied  into 
his  nu'iiioraiKhim-hook,  and  the  soV)cr  ])reachin^s  in  his  lather's 
attii-,  are  tlie  only  hudits  tlirown  u))()n  "the  sweet  reHpuusness" 
of  his  thildli<K>d.  We  know  iiothint;  ofliis  i-arly  conthets  with 
evil;  of  the  instances  in  wliich  he  yieldeil,  or  ofliis  partial  and 
unperfect  victories.  But  God  be  thanked  that  neither  upon  his 
good  repute  when  yountr,  nor  upon  a  wakeful  conscience  when 
the  last  account  drew  near,  did  there  ever  rest  the  "  danuied 
spot"  of  jtrofanity  or  of  vice  I 

His  i>arents  i)raycd  and  waited;  jirayed  with  an  earnestness 
and  a  faith  none  the  less  that  he  was  "  yet  a  child."  Who 
could  tell  lu>w  soon  the  light  niis^dit  dawn  whicli  should  reveal 
the  dauns,  alike  ini]»erative,  of  (iod's  holy  law  and  ofliis  bless- 
ed Ciospel?  Mothers,  and  some  fathers  too,  know  surely  when 
the  old,  short  stories,  wliich  touch  with  ecjual  charm  the  infant 
and  the  savage,  begin  to  tell ;  when  lips  which  lie  has  never 
soiled  relax  and  (juiver  with  a  new  emotion;  and  titful  eyes, 
now  gay,  now  serious,  but  lived  at  last  in  steady  wonder,  drop 
tears  of  tender  sadness  into  bosoms  shaken  by  a  tunmlt  of  grati- 
tude, hope,  and  joy.  There  was  a  fnst  time  wiien  31ary  Bunting 
and  her  s(»n  Jabez  thus  eonununed  and  clave  together;  wlien 
she  found  the  key  of  his  young  heart,  fitted  it — Oh,  how  gently  I 
— in  the  ready  wards,  then  tremblingly  turned  it  round,  and 
found  the  priceless  treasure  wliieh  years  of  tt>il  and  j)atience, 
none  too  many,  lia<l  laid  uj>  there. 

Her  son  ha<l  seen  his  twelfth  birthday,  ami  "the  dew"  and 
"the  small  rain"  had  thus  distilled  upon  him  ;  but  the  clou<ls  of 
genuine  rejientaiK-e  had  not  yet  gathcrcMl,  and  there  were  no 
immediate  tokens  of  the  storm  which  was  soon  to  shake,  but  to 
settle  liis  spirit.  But  presently  there  came  "a  sound  tif  abund- 
ance of  rain."  Soon  .after  the  period  just  name«l,  Joseph  Ben- 
Ho\  was  stationed  !fl  tlu"  Mrmclustt-r  circuit,  .and  my  father,  in 
usual  course,  atti-nded  his  ministry.  That  gnat  preacher,  al- 
wnvH  clear,  Hoionin,  and  c<tnviiu'ing,  and  often  heated  into  a  ve- 
hement ]»assinn  f»f  i»ower,  n-ceived,  at  this  timt%  one  of  those 
Hp«(i.il  dispens.ations  of  lu-avenly  miction  which  the  histories  of 
lif.Iy  ministers  in  .all  clmrches  reconl.  AVesley  was  just  dj-ad, 
and  trouble  came  f|ui(kly  on  ;  and,  while  the  strife  of  ecclesias- 
tical politics  wag<'<i  fiercely  roiiml  him,  Benson  s.aw,  more  clear- 
ly than  most  of  his  contemporaries,  that  the  true  and  all-absorb- 


CONVERSION.  6d 

in<x  snlijoct  of  solicitude  was  not  the  frame-work  and  polity  of 
Methodism,  but  its  jireservation  as  a  great  agency  for  convert- 
ing the  souls  of  men.  There,  then,  he  stood  before  his  people, 
from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  a  ))ale  and  slender  man,  of  a  presence 
melancholy  and  all  Init  mean,  with  a  voice  feeble,  and,  as  he 
raised  it,  shrill,  and  with  a  strange  accent,  caught  in  his  native 
Cumberland;  his  body  benduig  as  beneath  "the  burden  of  the 
Lord ;"  his  gesture  uncouth,  and  sometimes  grotesque ;  the  gen- 
iral  impression  of  the  whole  scarcely  redeemed,  at  first  sight, 
bv  the  high,  clear  forehead,  firm  nose,  and  steady  eye  wliich  his 
portraits  have  preserved  to  j)Osterity.  But  the  man  was  seen 
no  more  when,  having  announced  his  message,  he  proceeded  to 
enforce  it.  Dr.  Chalmers  once  said  to  my  father  concerning  a 
plain  Methodist  preacher,  whose  memory  still  Imgers  pleasantly 
in  the  hearts  of  many  brethren  and  children  m  the  Lord,  and 
who  labored  for  some  years  in  Glasgow,  "I  like  your  Geokuk 
TuoMPSOX ;  he  goes  about  saving  souls  in  such  a  bushicss-lik-e 
maimer.''''  Benson,  in  higher  degree,  had  this  habitual  pur]iose 
and  fiaculty.  lie  was  a  sound  and  learned  expositor  of  Holy 
Scripture  ;  and,  in  the  ophiion  of  those  competent  to  judge,  his 
Connncntary  still  perpetuates  his  usefulness,*  Makhig  the  l)est 
use  of  this  prime  advantage,  he  then  resorted  to,  ai)plied,  and 
exhausted  all  the  legitimate  arts  and  powers  of  the  Christian 
pulpit.  He  explained,  argued,  and  taught ;  but  he  also  warn- 
ed, remonstrated,  entreated,  and  wept ;  until,  often,  throwing 
down  the  weapons  his  spent  strength  could  wield  no  longer,  he 
fell  on  his  knees,  and  vented  his  full  heart  in  reverent  prayer, 
while  vast  congregations  quailed  or  melted  under  the  spell  of 
this  last  appeal  to  a  resistless  energy,  and,  as  with  one  voice, 
i-i-ied— but  not  aloud — for  instant  mercy.f     I  heard  my  father 

*  I  shouUl  be  unfaithful  to  my  father's  opinions,  frequently  and  strongly 
expressed,  were  I  not  to  record  the  hiph  estimation  in  which,  without  dis- 
parapinp  the  labors  of  other  devout  and  learned  men  within  his  own  pale, 
he  personally  held  Joseph  Benson's  Commentary,  a,<  combining,  more  large- 
ly than  any  other,  and  in  better  harmony,  all  the  excellences  of  a  sober  and 
thoroughly  Wesleyan  exposition  of  the  sacred  volume. 

t  What  a  scene  was  that,  early  in  170."),  when  Benson,  the  strife  at  Bris- 
tol grown  so  fierce  that  his  very  position  as  a  Jlethodist  preacher  w.is  threat- 
ened, went  into  Cornwall,  and,  after  a  long  succession  of  sermons,  found 
himself  so  pressed,  one  day,  by  an  eager  crowd  of  out-door  listeners,  that  he 
begged  those  already  converted  to  stand  far  off,  and  those  as  yet  unsaved  to 


40  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

preach  more  than  once  on  tlie  text  wWu-h  ])ids  us  always  to  he 
ready  to  give  a  reason  for  our  hope  "  with  meekness  and  fear," 
and  he  delivered  the  last  sentences  of  the  sermon  with  nuich 
solenuiity  of  voice  and  manner.  Tliey  vividly  described  the 
profound  abasement  and  awe  which  rest  subdiiinirly  upon  pro- 
fessor and  prui'anc,  when  special  intluence  accum[)anies  the 
preacliing  of  the  Truth,  and,  "  i)ricked  in  their  heart,"  multi- 
tudes intpiire,  "  Men  and  brethren,  what  must  we  do  ?"*    These 

come  within  hcarinp  I  But  all  stood  still,  with  feet  jilantcd  more  firmly 
than  hcforc,  and  with  eyes  "fastened  on  him,"  as  though  he  had  been  tho 
anpel  sent  from  heaven  to  put  in  his  sickle  and  to  rcaj)  tlic  ripe  harve^st  of 
the  earth.  "What!"  he  cried,  "  all  unconverted?"  In  a  moment  the  ter- 
rible conviction  of  sin,  guilt,  and  danger  ran  like  fire  through  the  multitude, 
and  conscience-stricken  sinners  fell  l)y  hundreds,  as  if  slain  by  thi>e  two 
words,  while  round  them  thronged  the  godly,  pouring  into  their  wounds  '"oil 
and  wine." 

*  I  am  not  sure  that  the  M.S.  j)reparations  for  this  sermon  arc  in  exist- 
ence; but  I  liavc  a  ])rinted  report  of  it  ns  jireached  in  London  in  1837. 
The  .sentences  to  which  I  refer,  illustrated,  as  I  well  remember,  by  Acts,  ii., 
37-43,  do  not  ajipear  at  any  length.  The  jircicher's  thoughts  seem,  in  this 
in.stancc,  to  have  been  soon  turned  into  another  channel.  I  subjoin  the  pa.s- 
sage  : 

"You  must  also  pi^'c  this  rea.son  with  /nar — not  the  fear  of  cowardice, 
against  which  the  aj)0stle  was  guarding.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  those  officers 
of  justice  who  are  at  the  door,  and  intend,  it  may  be,  to  haul  you  to  j)rison. 
Do  not  \>c  afraid  of  the  lions  to  which  you  may  be  east.  It  is  not  the  fcnr 
of  cowardice,  but  the  f-ar  of  reverence,  to  which  you  are  exhorted.  In  other 
words,  'Sanctify  the  Lord  God  in  your  hearts.'  Cherish,  haliiually,  rev- 
erential views  of  Uod.  When  you  come  to  talk  about  your  religion,  then, 
indeed,  have  you  a  goml  reason  for  bringing  this  reverence  into  special  ex- 
ercise. Give  an  answer  in  meekness  and  in  fear.  Perhaps  there  is  no  one 
word  in  our  language  which  so  well  includes  all  which,  I  think,  is  meant  lo 
be  included  in  this  term  /ear,  as  it  is  used,  not  only  in  this  pas-sage,  but  in 
others,  as  the  word  serious.  Be  ready  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that 
asks  you;  but  do  it  witli  meekness  and  humility;  do  it  withjieriousnes-s — 
8erir>uHness  of  si)irit,  scrioiisnt'ss  of  manner,  seriousness  of  expression.  lu 
talking  abf<ut  religion,  especially  experinieiital  religion.  cauti<jusly  avoid  ev- 
ery thing  ImlicrouR.  What  has  this  to  tlo  with  religion?  Laiigh  al>ouf  prj- 
iiics  and  the  aflairs  of  this  world  with  wisdom  and  in  moderation,  Imt  never 
indulge  in  a  spirit  that  belongs  to  the  ludicrous  in  any  thing  that  concerns 
the  soul,  and  the  va-st  relations  of  man  to  fJod  and  to  eternity.  (Jh,  it  is 
pitiful  to  be  sjMirting  when  men  arc  talking  al)out  these  momentous  things! 
Religion  and  the  hope  of  heaven  may  be  joyous  adairs  to  you,  but  there  was 
One  whom  the  whole  business  made  serious  enough.  It  is  a  very  joyous 
thinp  to  you  to  have  the  blessing  of  jiardon  and  of  peace  with  (lod,  and  a 


CONVERSION.  41 

sentiments  reflected  the  scenes  and  impressions  of  liis  own  awak- 
ening. Many  were  at  that  time  "  adtlcd  to  the  Lord,"  who  he- 
came  the  strength  and  the  ornament  of  Methodism  in  Manches- 
ter. And  Jabez  Bunting  called  Joseph  Benson  his  spiritual 
father. 

He  did  not,  however,  at  once  join  the  society,  or  experience 
the  comforting  and  renewhig  power  of  religion.     I  can  well 
understand  his  ditliculties.     He  was  never  forward  to  reveal 
the  emotions  and  exercises  of  his  inner  man.     The  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  his  heart  was  neither  superficial  nor,  distinct- 
ively, sentimental.     Once  convinced  that  the  time  had  come 
when  he  was  solennily  required  to  accept  or  to  refuse  the  mer- 
cy of  the  Gospel,  he  would  regard  it  as  a  duty  to  ponder  well 
what  he  would  do,  and  he  would  set  about  doing  it,  as  Richard 
Alleine  Aveightily  says,  in  "  the  most  serious  frame  possible,  suit- 
able to  a  transaction  of  such  high  importance."    This  is  not  the 
place  to  discuss  the  pretensions  of  modern  and  systematic  re- 
vivalism.    It  is  clear,  on  the  one  hand,  that  agencies  for  pro- 
moting the  conversion  of  men  which  are  not  expressly  enjoined 
by  the  Word  of  God  are  less  likely  to  succeed  than  those  which 
rightfully  claim  that  warrant.     On  the  other,  it  is  certain  that 
He  who  "  would  have  all  men  to  be  saved,"  in  His  divine  pity 
for  those  who  "are  ignorant  and  out  of  the  way,"  often  fetches 
them  home  to  His  flock  by  messengers  and  means  which  an  en- 
lightened piety  would  scarcely  dare  to  sanction.    Is  not  the  les- 
son this — that  those  modes  of  doing  good  which  all  admit  to 
be  legitimate  should  be  plied  with  so  much  tVcquency,  constan- 
cy, and  zeal,  as  to  render  a  recourse  to  all  others  needless?    In 
the  days  of  which  I  am  speaking,  the  regular,  authorized,  and 
well-tried  methods  were  employed ;   but  even"  they,  in  their 
earliest  action,  produced,  as  they  do  now,  very  various  results. 
"Who  docs  not  recognize,  in  the  circle  of  his  most  valued  Chris- 
tian friends,  those  who,  in  a  hurry  of  surprise  and  sorrow,  sub- 
mitted themselves  to  God,  and  who  have  never  broken  fealty  ? 
Generally  speaking,  however,  men  of  my  father's  cast  of  char- 
acter must  liave  more  time  and  culture.     Upon  such  a  previous 
test  is  imposed.      ^len  may   come   to   Christ   without    going 
throuo-h  the  sate  of  His  Church ;  but  the  Church  is  the  best 

delightful  consciousness  of  communion  with  Him,  and  the  full  expectation 
of  one  day  being  with  Him,  but  remember  that  it  cost  your  Savior  His  blood." 


rj  TlIK    LIFE   OF  JABKZ   lU'NTING. 

roail  to  Him.  .\iiil  the  test  of  union  witli  the  Churcli  acts,  not 
arltitraiily,  hut  as  of  itsi-lf  su]»)>l\ini^  a  fair  and  sinipK'  nicKle  of 
tiiitliiiLj  out  whether  we  are  in  earnest  for  salvation.  Tiie  Churcli 
is  the  home  of  the  heuUliy,  hut  the  liosj)ital  for  the  siek.  To 
go  there  is  to  confess  our  siekness,  our  faith  in  the  treatment 
there  observed,  and  our  desjtuir  of  other  metliods  of  liealing; 
and  thus  the  ))rofession  of  religion  l)eeoines  of  the  substance 
of  ri'ligion  itself  To  this  test  my  father  did  not  inunetliately 
submit.  There  were,  jierhaps,  ililficullit's  in  his  way  ]>eeuliar 
to  the  Chureh  witii  whieh,  if  with  any,  he  was  to  unite  himself. 
Chureh-membership,  in  all  ecclesiastical  communities,  is  the  rec- 
ognized right  to  sit  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  AVhilc  all 
Churches,  1  believe,  admit  this  jjroposition,  each  ha.s  its  own 
mode  of  recognition.  The  Methodists  require,  as  a  general 
rule,  tliat  tlic  candidate,  or  admitted  member,  shall  join  a  "  cla.s.s" 
— a  meeting  held  weekly,  at  which  each  who  attends  is  expect- 
ed to  give  a  statement  of  n-ligious  experience,  and  (in  which, 
perhaps,  consists  the  chief  virtue  of  the  instituti)  to  receive  the 
coimsels  and  encouragements  of  one  of  tluir  number,  not,  in- 
deed, known  as  a  pastor,  but  charged  to  direct  and  guide  a.s  a 
"leader."  From  sueh  disclosures  as  this  discipline  requires,  I 
ean  easily  l>elieve  that  a  mind  like  my  father's  would,  in  tho 
first  instance,  and  not  unnaturally,  ncoil.  Of  course,  I  do  not 
Htay  to  vindicate  a  system  whiih,  tried  for  more  than  a  century, 
h:i.s  tended  more  to  the  jiurity  :md  conqiactness  of  the  Method- 
ist i»eople  th.m  any  other  peculiarity  of  their  order. 

A  circumstance  very  trilling  in  itself  l)rought  him  to  deci- 
sion. The  Love-feast,  a  nu-eting  \\here,  alst),  unchr  the  direct 
jiresidency  of  the  p.istor,  and  nndi-r  smh  control  as  he  may 
think  lit  to  exercise,  religious  experience  is  related,  is  anotlu-r 
of  the  institutions  of  .Methodism.  .\l  these  meetings,  which 
have  survived  many  bitter  libels,  l)read  :md  w.ater  are  )»:irtaken 
in  c-onnnon  by  the  peoph-  jiresent.  The  ticket  of  membership 
with  the  society,  given  to  all  who  meet  in  class,  or  a  sjtecial 
note  from  the  minister,  is  tlio  only  ]>ass|>ort  for  adult  j)ersons; 
but  young  children  are  often  taken  to  enjoy  tlie  novelty  or  va- 
riety of  the  service,  and,  in  tlie  case  of  very  little  ones,  the  bread 
— alw.ays  so  nia<le  as  to  ple.ase  simjile  jialntes.*     Accordingly, 

•  Forty  years  nfro,  tlic  "frnpmcntB  tliot  rcmnincd"  used  to  l»o  unit  into 
tho  mini.otcr'fl  hoti!<c  for  the  rnniinnoiiu  delectation  of  liis  Imnfrry  diildren. 
I  hope  this  very  proiKT  <'»i»toni  in  not  dyirnr  mit. 


CONVERSION'.  43 

Mary  Buntincf,  never  absent  on  such  ooeaslons,  was  wont  to  take 
lier  son  witli  her,  and  the  quarteily  recurrcnci'  of  them  was  an 
event  to  whicli  lie  looked  forward  with  interest.  It  seems  that 
the  regulation  as  to  admittance  had,  during  Benson's  charge 
of  the  circuit,  been  frequently  relaxed,  and  my  father,  getting 
well  on  hi  his  teens,  had  never  yet  been  asked  for  his  ticket. 
But  Alexander  Mather  came  as  the  superintendent.  Ilim  I 
must  leave  for  the  present,  except  to  record  that  he  was  a  strict 
ilisciplinarian.  He  was  shocked  to  hear  that  big  boys,  who  had 
not  joined  the  society,  Avere  iii  the  habit  of  attendhig  at  the 
Love-feast,  and  at  once  i)ut  a  stop  to  the  i>ractice.  The  first 
occasion  of  the  kind  after  his  arrival  saw  Jabez  Bunthig  shut 
out.  Ilis  mother  seized  the  opportunity.  Perhaps  even  she 
was  not  aware  of  the  effect  produced  upon  him  by  Benson's 
l)reaching.  "  I  do  not  know  what  you  tlunk  of  it,  Jabez,"  she 
said,  "  but  to  me  it  seems  an  awful  thing  that,  after  having  been 
carried  there''  (probably  she  thought  of  the  time  when  she  had 
carried  him  to  the  Cliapel  for  Wesley's  blessiug),  "  you  should 
now  be  excluded  by  your  own  fault."  He  once  said  in  a  meeting 
of  the  kind,  "  Many  attribute  their  conversion  to  their  havuig 
attended  a  Love-feast ;  I  owe  mine  to  having  liecii  shut  out  of 
one."  Both  the  fact  and  his  relation  of  it  strikingly  illustrate 
his  religious  experience  and  habits.  His  mother  left  him  ;  but, 
again  to  use  his  own  words,  "  the  blow  was  struck  in  the  right 
place."  She,  a  happy  Christian,  "went  up  with  the  multitu<le 
that  kept  holiday;"  he  into  his  closet,  to  think  and  to  jiray. 
He  is  now  in  Paradise,  praising  God  for  the  transactions  of  that 
hour.  Not  that  then — and  an  Alleine  supjilii's  me  with  another 
golden  sentence — he  "closed  with  God  in  Christ,"  but  that  then 
he  set  about  that  strenuous  and  struggling  effort  to  find  for- 
giveness, j)eace,  and  power,  which  the  worst  never  made  in 
vain.  lie,  once  for  all,  renounced  sin  ;  bound  himself  to  God's 
sei-A-ice  by  holy  purpose  and  resolution ;  asked  His  mercy  and 
help ;  pleaded  His  promises ;  and,  if  with  but  feeble  faith,  felt 
and  groped  after  the  one  everlasting  truth  of  Christ,  "the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  Imt  also  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world,"  which,  embraced  ami  realized  as  his 
very  o\\ni,  should  make  him  a  loving  .-uul  rejoicing,  and,  so,  a 
regenerate  creature.  Standing  on  his  father's  door-step  one  day 
soon  afterward,  he  did  embrace  and  reaUze  it,  as  placed  allur- 


44  THE  LIKK  OF  JABKZ   hvntixc;. 

ingly  A\itliin  lii<  rciidi  l>y  the  ri'vcaling  ami  i)crsuatling  Spirit; 
he  saw  ami  kmw  thai  God,  for  Christ's  saki',  both  could  and 
would  partlon  and  arropt  hin> ;  with  every  jiower  and  I'acuhy 
of  soul  and  spirit,  he  "ventured  himself  on  Clnist,"  and  was 
conseiously  pardoned  and  accepted ;  or,  as  ]\Iethodists  love  to 
say,  in  i»hrase  which  the  Bible  has  made  ready  to  their  hand, 
he  "was  set  at  liberty."  Having'  "  nuich  lonriven,"  he  "loved 
much."  His  heart  was  "  enhni^ed,  iullanietl,  ami  filled"  with 
new  and  intinite  aftections.  lie  was  "turned  about"  "from  sin 
to  God."  lie  had  a  new  will,  and  a  new  conunand  of  it ;  his 
desires,  courses,  and  pursuits,  his  entire  Ufi' — "all  things" — be- 
came "new."     Tliis  Avas  his  conversion. 

Infancy  and  childhood  had,  indeed,  been  full  of  irracious 
thoutrhts,  and  of  eaniest  wishes  to  be  religious;  aiul  the  medi- 
tative boy  had  always  intended,  at  some  not  distant  period,  to 
become  so;  l>ut,  until  now,  he  had  not  solved  the  one  great 
problem  of  the  soul's  prol)ation.  Thoutrhts,  wishes,  and  inten- 
tions had  not  ripened  into  acti«)n,  because  he  tumid  '■^  )iot  serve 
the  Lonl  (iod."  Now  they  were  "brought  to  good  effect." 
"A  sinful  man" — one  who  had  sinned,  an<l,  remaining  as  he 
had  been,  could  not  but  sin — went  "in  peace;"  of  necessity, 
choice,  or  habit,  to  "sin  no  mori-."  And  these  were  not  mere 
fancies,  l)ut  facts  in  the  hist<jry  of  his  nnnd  and  heart,  as  denion- 
Btrable  as  those  of  his  oiiter  and  corporeal  life.  Who,  at  all 
events,  will  say  that  this  statement  oftliem  is  not  rational,  crecl- 
ible,  and  consistent  ? 

He  an<l  another  youth,  "dear  to  him  as  his  own  soul,"  began 
together  to  meet  in  class,  and  received  their  "Notes  of  Atbuis- 
Hion  upon  Trial"  into  tin-  ."MethcMlist  Society  at  the  "(Quarterly 
Visitation"  ma<le  by  the  ministers  of  the  circuit  in  September, 
175)4.  Fifty-s(*\en  years  aOerward  hi-  followed  that  freind  to 
tin-  grave,  and  on  the  following  Sabbath,  in  a  \\w  sentences  at 
the  end  of  a  sermon,  conunemor.ited  the  virtJJcs  and  the  graces 
wluch  no  longer  blcx)med  on  earth.  The  late  .T.vmics  Wood,  of 
Manchester,  a  ni-in  of  excellent  sense,  thorough  integrity,  affec- 
tionate temper,  and  gentlemanly  and  geni.-il  manners,  stood  just- 
ly hi'.'h  in  tlic  estimation  f)fthe  world,  .and  in  the  love  and  ad- 
miration of  his  fellow-Christians.  He  anpiircd  a  large  fortun. 
in  trade  by  means  singularly  just  and  lumorable ;  was  the  fust 
President  of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  bore 


MEDICAL   EDUCATION.  45 

the  queen's  commisiou  for  tlie  county;  and,  as  he  rose  to  emi- 
nence, anil  alter  he  had  risen,  was  an  able  and  fiiithliil  class- 
leader  and  lay-preacher.  To  his  counsels  and  liberalities  my 
father  was  lrc([ucntly  and  largely  indebted,  both  itcrsonally, 
and  in  reference  to  great  plans  of  public  usefulness.  Joseph 
Kedfern,  before  named  as  an  uncle,  was  the  leader  of  the  class 
to  which  the  two  boys  joined  themselves.  From  his  dass- 
])aper,  I  find  that  my  lather  was  very  i)unctual  in  bis  attend- 
ance, but  was  too  poor  to  keep  the  old  ]\Iethodist  rule.  The 
penny  a  week  was  regularly  i)aid ;  but,  histead  of  a  shilling, 
only  sixpence  a  quarter. 

Since  1765,  the  tickets  of  membership  have  always  been 
printed  in  London,  and  circulated  thence  throughout  the  king- 
dom. Each  bears  on  it  some  short  text  of  Scripture.  The  first 
my  father  received  was  given  him  in  Deccniber,  1794.  I  can 
imagine  him  taking  it  home,  and  showing  it  to  his  mother,  but 
scarcely  how  she  felt  when  she  read  it.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
well-remembered  prayer  of  Jabez,  once  more  sealed  in  promise 
up<in  her  only  son — "  Oh  that  Thou  wouldest  bless  me  indeed, 
and  that  Thou  wouldest  keep  me  from  evil !" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MEDICAL    EUL'CATIOX. 


Dr.  rcrcivul's  Birth. — Education. — Professional  Career. — Public  Life. — 
Works.— Political  Opinions.— llelipious  Tenets.— Dr.  Harncs.— pr.  Per- 
cival's  Pietv.— Letter  as  to  the  Sabbath-day.— Death. — Jabez  Bunting's 
Connection  with  Dr.  Percival.— Medical  Education. — Manners.— Dr. 
Percival's  Descendants. — Dr.  Edward  Percival.- His  Children. 

Dr.  Tiio:«as  PERavAL,  the  grandson  and  nephew  of  phy- 
sicians bearing  the  same  surname,  who  both  practiced  at  War- 
rington, was  born  in  1740.  Deprived,  when  three  years  old, 
of  both  his  parents,  Elizabeth,  his  eldest  sister,  became  "  the 
mother  of  his  understanding  and  manners."  She  adopted  new 
views  of  religion,  and,  quitting  the  faith  and  worshij)  of  the 
Established  Church,  joined  herself  to  a  congregation  of  Arians. 
He  was  educated,  first,  at  the  free  grammar  school  of  his  native 
town,  and  ai\erward  at  '*  The  Warrmgton  Academy ;"  an  insti- 


4(J  TIIK    1.1  KK    OF   .TAHKZ    lU'XTINT,. 

tutioii  Idontifu'd  with  tlu'  names  of  Dr,  J<»lin  Taylor,  Priestley, 
Gilbert  Wakefield,  Aikin,  Enlield,  and  other  persons  of  khidred 
Bentiinents,  whicli,  al\er  various  suspensions  or  niigrati(»ns,  has 
now  settled. in  "  Tniversity  Hall,"  attaehed  to  the  University 
of  Londiin.  Here  he  distiiiL,'uislH'd  himself  in  moral  and  intel- 
lectual i)hilosophy.  lie  w;u>  indebted  to  the  unele  before  named 
for  an  increase  of  his  fortune,  an  extensive  librai*}',  and  the  bent 
of  his  choice  to  the  medical  profession,  Sacriticintr,  from  con- 
Pcientious  ol)jections  to  subscription,  his  desire  to  enter  an  En- 
jrlish  University,  he  matriculated  at  EdinburLTh  about  the  year 
17G1.  There  he  was  admitted  to  iietpieut  intercourse  with 
Hume,  of  Avhose  talents  and  maimers  he  has  recorded  his  ad- 
miration; and  with  Kobertsun,  in  the  family  of  whose  sister, 
Mrs.  Symes,  he  resided  duriuLT  two  winters.  There,  also,  he 
contracted  lasting;  fiicndships  with  I  lay  irarth.  Falconer,  Aikin, 
and  l\'j)ys,  all  of  whom  achieved  distinction  in  his  own  profes- 
sion. Throu<;h  tliese  connections,  lie  .availed  liimsclf  of  the  at- 
tractive but  dangerous  society  of  the  Scottish  metn^polis.  One 
year,  too,  was  spent  in  London,  \\  here  "  an  almost  patenial  and 
filial  regard''  was  formed  between  him  and  the  Lord  Willough- 
by  de  I'arham,  a  nobleman  of  great  inlluence  and  of  various  ac- 
comi»lishments.  His  house  was  the  resort  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  the  <lay,  and  he  s|iared  no  opportunity  of  introducing 
I'ereival  to  their  aei|uaintance  and  patronage.  At  the  instanet? 
of  the  same  friend,  he  was,  thoiigh  the  youngest  jterson  who 
had  ever  received  that  honor,  elected  a  Eelh)W  of  the  Royal 
Society.  Subse<piently  he  took  his  degree  at  Leyden,  and,  after 
a  tour'm  Holland  and  France,  settled  in  Warrington,  whence, 
ill  1  7(>7,aner  his  marriage,  he  removed  to  Manelu-sler.  In  that 
••ily  he  pursiied,  for  nearly  forty  years,  a  professional  career, 
which,  for  honctr,  iisefulness,  ami  general  success,  lias  seldom 
been  ]»aralleled  in  the  ))rovinces.  Sir  (leorge  IJaker  urged  him 
to  ofTer  himself  as  a  candidate  for  fellowshijt  in  the  College  of 
Physicians,  and  held  out  to  him  the  templing  bait  of  becoming 
the  first  fellow  not  educated  at  an  English  University;  ])Ut  the 
pressure  of  business  dehiyed  the  apjdication  until  the  mf)tive 
of  advantage  ceased  to  operate.  He  was  elected  Fellow  of  the 
Koyril  Societies  of  Edinburgh  and  of  Paris,  and  a  member  of 
the  Medical  S<»ciety  of  London,  of  the  Anu-rican  Academy  of 
Arts,  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia, 


MEDICAL   EDUCATION.  47 

and  of  other  learned  and  scientific  bodies.  Among  his  friends 
and  correspondents  lie  numbered  Franklin,  the  then  Lord  Lans- 
downe,  Lord  JNIonboddo,  lJisho])S  ]>urgess  and  Watson,  Dean 
Tucker,  Pair,  Price,  Paley,  Beattie,  John  Howard,  Madame 
Necker,  Haimah  More,  and  a  host  of  other  persons  famous  ui 
their  generation.  To  his  good  offices  with  Robertson,  Priest- 
lev  was  hidebted  for  his  diploma  from  Edinburgh.  His  volu- 
minous writings,  publislied,  some  in  the  Transactions  of  Socie- 
ties, and  many  separately,  on  Medical,  Moral,  Mental,  Political, 
and  Social  Science,  were  extensively  read  in  England  and  on 
the  Continent,  and  still  possess  a  Avell-recognizcd  value.  His 
"  Medieal  Ethics,"  in  particular,  remains  the  standard  work  on 
that  subject.  The  impression  made  l>y  one  of  his  Moral  Tales 
ujjon  De  Quuicey  and  his  young  sister  is  recorded  in  the  auto- 
biography to  which  I  have  before  referred.  Distinguished  men 
in  his  own  neighborhood  and  from  abroad  clustered  around  him. 
Manchester  owes  to  hini  the  foundation  of  its  Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society,  since  made  illustrious  by  its  connection 
with  the  name  of  Dalton ;  and  the  refomi  and  permanent  estab- 
lishment of  its  truly  Royal  Infirmary.  An  attempt  which  he 
made  to  found  a  College  of  Arts,  for  the  improvement  of  young 
men  engaged  in  connnercc  and  in  manufactures,  did  not  receive 
l)ublic  support.  L'nder  his  auspices,  a  Board  of  Health,  in  the 
transactions  of  which  I  have  reason  to  believe  my  father  took 
an  active  interest,  was  formed  about  the  year  1*796,  and  did 
something  to  commence  the  improvements  which  have  changed 
that  once  dirty  city  into  one  of  the  cleanest  in  the  empire.* 
He  was  a  warm  supporter  of  Will)ertbrce  in  the  earliest  at- 
tempts to  suppress  the  slave-trade,  and  the  first  Parliamentary 
petition  from  the  provinces  against  that  infamous  traffic  was 
Avritten  by  his  pen. 

His  ophiions  on  secular  and  ecclesiastical  politics  were  very 
moderate.  He  wrought  earnestly  for  the  repeal  of  the  Test  and 
Corporation  Acts,  maintauiing,  on  the  authority  of  Lord  ^lans- 
field,  that  "Protestant  Nonconformists  are  not  imder  the  con- 
nivance, but  the  express  protection  of  the  law,  and  that  their 
modes  of  worship  are  in  the  fullest  sense  established ;"  and 
drawing  a  distinction  between  "the  claims  of  Roman  Catholics 

*  Probably  my  father's  first  composition  for  the  press  was  written  in  refer- 
ence to  this  subject.     It  will  be  fouiul  in  AjipcnJix  R. 


4»  Tllh:    LIFE   OF  JABEZ    BrXTIN'O. 

and  those  of  the  Protestants  to  trust  nml  power,"  even  though 
the  t'ornu-r  sliall  "  acknowledj^fe  alk't^iaiioc  to  the  state,"  because 
''their  reh^^ion  is  subversive  of  the  established  reUgion  of  the 
country  ;  that  is,  the  Church  of  Enghuid,  the  Kirk  of  Scotland, 
the  Quakers,  and  all  orders  of  Protestant  Dissenters  authorized 
by  law ;  and  the  connnunity  has  the  same  right  which  an  indi- 
vidual I'lijoys  of  j»ossessing  and  i)roviding  for  the  security  of  its 
own  religion."  lie  ajiproved  "•  the  liturgical  form  of  worship." 
"  I  feel,"  he  wrote,  "  an  abhorrence  of  taction,  a  reverence  for 
our  Constitution,  and  gratitude  for  tlic  civil  and  religious  priv- 
ileges wc  enjoy;  but  I  conceive  that  power  is  always  disposed 
to  enlarge  its  boundaries,  and  that  it  shouKl  be  watched  with 
tenii)erale  but  seduh)us  attention."  Two  of  liis  sons  matricu- 
lated at  the  English  Universities.  "  I  am  a  Dissenter,"  he  says, 
in  a  letter  to  Paley,  on  the  subject  of  subscription,  "but  actu- 
ated by  the  same  spirit  of  Catholicism  which  you  profess;  an 
Establishment  I  appro\  e ;  the  Church  of  England,  in  many  re- 
S2)ects,  I  honor;  and  I  should  think  it  my  duty  instantly  to  en- 
ter her  communion,  were  your  plan"  (that  of  a  comprehension) 
"carried  into  execution."  Paley's  letter  in  rei)ly  states  that 
ca.sy  moralist's  view  of  the  conditions  of  subscription  :  c.  </.,  if  a 
person  understand  and  believe  every  thing  in  tlie  Articles,  Lit- 
urgy, and  Homilies;  if  a  persctn  think  every  thing  in  them  a.s 
probable  as  the  contrary ;  if  he  understand  some,  but  not  all, 
and  assent  to  those  understood  ;  if,  not  thinking  any  thing  con- 
tained in  them  to  hv  /(/rbitfi/at,  lie  yet  regard  some  things  as 
not  imperative,  or  as  not  good  and  useful,  or  as  not  reasonable; 
or  if  tlie  intention  of  the  imposer  of  the  test  be  res))ected. 

I  shall  not  incur  any  just  censure  if  I  speak  }»lainly  of  Dr. 
PcrcivaPs  religious  tenets.  His  sister  and  earliest  teacher  was 
a  convert  to  Arianism,  and  it  is  likely  that  she  impressed  lier 
new  views  upon  him,  when  a  <'hild,  with  the  usual  ardor  of  a 
proselyte.  Afterward  his  faith  in  Christ i:uiity  itself  was  shaken 
by  the  i)eruHal  of  Hiune's  Essay  on  Miracles ;  but  it  was  ha]ipi- 
jy  restored  by  the  study  of  Bisliop  Butler's  Analogy,  "a  writer 
whom  he  ever  esteemed  the  chief  |>illar  of  Christi.an  doctrine." 
He  settled  down  into  tin-  theological  system  of  his  childhood. 
Hut  his  writings  contimially  Ijetray  that  intense  opposition  to  all 
fixed  standards  of  belief  which,  in  minds  less  candid  than  his, 
Ko  often  leads  to  a  sullen  aii<l  repulsive  dogniatism — a  bigotry 


MEDICAL  EDUCATION.  49 

■without  object  or  excuse.  Free  thinkers  are  usually  fast  think- 
ers, .and,  so  long  as  they  quickly  count  the  milestones,  imag- 
ine that  their  road  surely  leads  to  trutli ;  are  apt  to  be  angry  if 
stopped,  and  become  the  more  furious  by  how  much  the  more 
clearly  it  be  shown  them  that  they  are  taking  the  wrong  di- 
rection. 

PercivaFs  spirit,  however,  was  very  patient  and  tender ;  and, 
if  he  failed  to  find  the  truth,  it  was  not  for  w.ant  of  a  diligent 
study  of  the  Px^ok  which  contains  it  .all,  but  ]>robably  from  some 
early  and  ingrained  error  as  to  the  conditions  ujjon  which  only 
its  blessed  teachings  reach  the  mind  .and  heart  of  man.  He  fre- 
quently attended  the  ministry  of  the  late  Kev.  Dr.  Barnes,  at 
what  is  now  the  Unitarian  Chapel  in  Cross  Street,  Manchester, 
in  the  days  to  which  I  have  already  referred,  when  the  odor  of 
file  old  evangelieal  doctrine  still  clung  to  i)reachers  and  to  meet- 
ing-houses no  longer  reputed  orthodox.  In  such  places,  rich 
and  ancient  melodies,  fraught  with  the  Psalms  of  David,  in  the 
(piaint  version  so  justly  dear  to  the  children  of  the  Kirk,*  or 
with  the  precious  hymns  of  Isaac  AYatts,  still  bore  up  to  heaven 
the  worship  of,  here  and  there,  a  hidden  saint,  and  solemnly  tes- 
tified to  the  mass  of  drowsy  hearers  against  the  hesitation  or 
the  positive  declension  of  the  pulpit.  And,  so  recently  as  eighty 
years  ago,  Dr.  Barnes  could  wrestle  with  the  consciences  of  his 
people  in  strains  like  these : 

"  God  is  my  Avitness  that  my  soul  earnestly  longs  for  your 
souls'  welfore ;  I  have  not  a  wish  in  my  breast  more  strong, 
more  fervent,  more  constant  than  this.  I  woxdd  fain  approve 
myself  to  God  as  a  successful  preacher  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
If,  at  some  seasons,  I  have  been  willing  to  hope  my  labors  have 
not  been  entirely  in  vain,  at  others  I  have  l)een  discouraged  and 
affected,  and  ready  almost  to  imagine  myself  a  useless  cipher  in 
a  cause  in  which,  if  I  know  my  own  heart,  my  whole  soul  is 
sincerely,  though,  alas!  too  imperfectly,  too  negligently  en- 
gaged. Alas !  my  friends,  forgive  my  fears ;  I  should  be  glad 
to  find  them  false  ;  but  I  have  been  afraid  that  the  work  of  con- 
version is  much  at  a  stand  among  us.  The  thought  of  this  some- 
times pierces  my  very  soul.     I  have  asked,  "What  shall  I  do  ? 

*  James  Montpomery  once  said  to  me  that,  heartily  admitting  the  great 
superiority  to  all  others  of  Cliarlcs  Wesley's  Ilymtis,  ho  still  loved  best  ^'the 
loild-bee-Uke-immnur"  of  the  words  aad  music  of  liis  own  Moravian  worship. 

Vol..  I— C 


50  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

M'hat  shall  I  say?  what  subject  shall  I  choose?  IIow  shall  I 
rouse  that  stupid  conscience,  -which  seems  proof  against  every 
alarm  V  How  shall  I  sj)eak,  so  that  not  a  slee|)er  shall  remain 
among  us  ?"  And,  again,  speaking  of  the  1  icdemption  by  Christ 
Jesus,  "  Do  you,  my  dear  friends,  understand  the  titness,  the  rea- 
sonableness, the  beauty,  the  kindness  of  the  plan  ?  Here  is  the 
very  hinge,  the  fundamental  beauty  and  glory  of  the  Gospel.  I 
wish  you  to  understand  and  to  feel  it ;  if  you  understand  it 
aright,  you  must  feel  it — poAverfully  feel  and  admire  it.  God 
has  given  His  '  only-begotten  Son,  Jesus,'  the  Brightness  of  His 
glory — His  Beloved  Son — He  has  given  Him  to  die  for  your 
sins ;  and  in  this  He  has  at  once  displayed  the  greatest  hatred 
of  the  sin  and  the  greatest  mercy  to  the  sinner.  It  is  designed 
at  once  to  humble  and  to  support  the  Christian  ;  to  humble  him, 
first,  under  the  sense  of  his  own  guilt,  and  then  to  raise  him 
up  in  the  joyful  assiu'ance  of  pardon  and  ivconciliation.  Oh ! 
where  is  the  wretch  whose  heart  does  not  overflow  with  inex- 
pressible gratitude — whose  soul  does  not  swell  with  a  rapture 
too  great  for  words  to  utter,  too  high  for  the  tongue  of  an  angel 
to  declare !  I  have,  my  friends,  often  been  alanned  and  grieved 
at  the  unconcern  which  so  many  discover  for  the  ])eculiar  doc- 
trine of  the  Gosj)el  of  Christ.  I  should  be  unworthy  the  name 
I  bear  as  an  embassador  of  Jesus  if  I  Avere  unconcerned  in  a 
matter  in  which  His  dignity,  and  the  good  of  the  souls  of  men, 
are  so  much  at  stake.  I  have  endeavored  to  lay  before  you  the 
wisdom,  and  beauty,  and  titness  of  this  plan  ;  if  you  see  and  feel 
it  in  the  same  manner  in  which  my  heart  sees  and  feels  it,  you 
will  not  be  able  to  contain  the  rising  emotions  of  wonder  and 
love ;  you  will  feel  a  heart-compelling  power  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  Cross  beyond  the  force  of  language  to  express.  Alas !  I 
well  know  that  an  attempt  to  exjdain  it  to  one  who  has  never 
felt  it  is,  and  must  be,  forever  in  vain.  No.  You  nuist  be  hum- 
bled, you  must  be  laid  low  under  the  conviction  of  guilt,  you 
must  have  pa.ssed  through  the  discipline  of  a  broken  and  con- 
trite spirit,  and  then,  I  will  venture  to  affinn,  you  will  feel  and 
acknowledge  a  something — a  Divine,  inex])ressil)le  something  in 
that  scheme  which  will  be  matter  for  your  constant  admiration 
and  hope  in  this  world,  and  for  your  constant  meditation  and 
praise  in  the  world  to  come.  Oh,  my  brethren,  my  soul  is  full ; 
I  could  with  pleasure  stay  here.     You  will  bear  me  witness  that 


MEDICAL   EDUCATION.  51 

this  is  my  favorite  subject.  I  have  built  my  eternal  hopes  upon 
it.  Here  I  stand,  blessed  be  the  name  of  God,  firm  and  daunt- 
less. I  see,  I  feel  tlie  stamp  of  heaven.  That  God  gave  His 
only-begotten  Son  appears  to  me  the  highest  possible  display  of 
infinite  Avisdom,  and  of  infinite,  matchless,  boundless  love.  Je- 
sus is  the  sinner's  Friend,  the  sinner's  Hope.  'Thanks  be  to 
God  for  His  unspeakable  gift.' " 

INIy  father  always  expressed  the  comfortable  hope  that  such 
teachings,  though  counteracted  by  formal  statements  of  doctrine 
with  which  they  seemed  to  him  wholly  inconsistent,  disclosed 
a  state  of  opinion  really,  though  indistinctly  evangelical  on  the 
part  of  the  venerable  preacher,  and  of  his  own  friend  and  ben- 
efactor, Dr.  Percival.  In  the  case  of  l)oth  of  them,  he  loved  to 
think  that  dangerous  error  was  not  fatal;  but  it  Avas  because 
the  "  Name  that  is  above  every  name,"  even  if  confessed  with 
faltering  hps,  never  fails  to  reach  the  ear  of  the  all-merciful  Fa- 
ther, and  to  draw  down  a  quick  and  saving  virtue.  And  there 
■were  ripe  and  clustering  evidences  that  a  change  not  human 
had  passed  upon  the  heart  of  Dr.  Percival,  in  his  devoutness, 
self-command,  habitual  sweetness  of  temper,  pious  submission 
to  heavy  sorrows,  expansive  charity,  and  reverence  for  the  Word 
and  Day  of  God.  As  to  the  Sabbath,  a  quotation  fi-om  a  letter 
to  his  eldest  son,  then  at  Oxford,  will  illustrate  both  his  strength, 
and  what  I  presume  to  consider  as  his  weakness.  And  how 
great  a  contrast  it  presents  to  the  sentiments  and  practices  of 
the  "  rational  Chiistians"  of  later  times ! 

"Manchester,  February  10th,  1785. 
"  My  dear  Son, — I  approve  very  much  of  the  Conversation 
Society  you  have  estabhshed.  Such  institutions  promote  the 
spirit  of  study  by  the  emulation  which  they  excite ;  and,  while 
they  heighten  the  zest  for  knowledge,  they  give  accuracy  and 
permanency  to  our  acquirements.  But  I  lament  that  you  de- 
vote a  part  of  Sunday  to  pursuits  foreign  to  that  day.  Relig- 
ion and  ethics,  considered  in  an  intellectual  view,  hold  the  first 
rank  in  dignity  among  the  sciences,  and  to  be  defective  in  a 
systematic  acquaintance  with  them  is  disgraceful  to  a  scholar 
and  a  gentleman ;  but,  regarding  them  as  a  rule  of  life,  and  the 
foimdation  of  all  our  future  hopes,  they  have  a  pre-eminence, 
beyond  comparison,  over  every  other  species  of  learnuig.   With 


62  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

such  scntimcjits,  it  has  hocn  my  cronoral  jirarticc  to  set  apnrt 
Suiulavs  to  the  most  important  of  all  studies,  ami  1  have  i'.\i>o- 
ricnccd  very  beiulicial  elVeels  iVum  this  reguhition.  It  has 
pjreatly  (liversitioil  my  studies,  has  oflcn  checked  the  sallies  of 
levity,  and  strcmxthencd  all  the  j^ood  impressions  of  a  virtuous 
and  jtious  edui-atinn.  You  know  I  am  free  from  any  supersti- 
tious veneration  lur  times  and  seas(»ns;  but  every  oftiee  recjuires 
some  stated  order  in  its  performance.  I  do  not  meaii  to  rec- 
ommend the  discussion  of  moral  or  theological  topics  at  your 
nu-etings,  for  such  dissertations  among  y<Hmg  men  are  seldom 
subservient  to  any  good;  but  I  M'ish  to  suggest  to  you  the  ]>ro- 
priety  of  assembling  on  some  other  day  of  the  week,  if  you 
can  easily  prevail  with  your  friends  to  comjily  with  such  a  pro- 
poBal." 

Dr.  Pcrcival  died  in  September,  1804,  and  was  interred  at 
the  j)ari>h  church  of  Warrington.  Parr  wrote  liis  epitaph; 
and  J)r. Thomas  Magee,  who  married  his  niece,  and  who  sub- 
sequently became  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  author  of  the  Dis- 
courses on  the  Atonement,  paid  just  tribute  to  his  memory  in 
the  Monthly  Magazine  Ibr  1h()4.  The  j)apers  of  the  decea.sed 
were  betpieathed  to  his  son  Edward  and  to  my  father  as  his 
literary  executors,  and  in  1807  his  collected  Works  were  pub- 
lished in  four  volumes,  prefaced  by  an  elegantly-written  Mem- 
oir. 

The  good  Providence  of  (Jod  jilaccil  .Tabe/.  Hiuiting,  when 
about  sixteen  years  of  age,  under  the  care  of  the  excellent  man 
whose  course,  character,  and  ojtinions  I  have  thus  rapidly 
sketched.  Edward  I'ercival  had  taken  a  great  liking  to  his 
clever  companion;  the  sehoolroonj  was  very  near  Dr.  Percival's 
house;  the  two  boys  went  in  and  out  together;  the  tailor's  son 
attract e«l  attention  and  sym))athy ;  an<l  his  rejmtation  at  school 
8trengthene<l  the  good  opinion  formed  of  hinu  The  busy  ]ihy- 
sician,  author,  an«l  j)liil:uithropi8t  needed  the  aid  of  which  th(^ 
absence,  and,  ultimately,  the  <leath  (»f  his  two  elder  sons,  men 
of  great  parts  and  promise,  had  deprived  him;  the  more  so,  be- 
cause the  state  of  liis  eyesight  rendered  him  increasingly  une- 
•pi.'il  to  meet  tlie  «lemands  of  daily  «luties.  lie  required  a 
fjuick,  intelligent  amanuensis;  :md  proposed,  therefore,  to  Ja- 
bcz  Bunting's  parents,  that  their  son  should  continue  his  studies 


MEDICAL   EDUCATION".  53 

under  his  own  eye,  Icavn  liis  profession,  reside  in  liis  family, 
and  be  the  companion  and  assistant  of  his  Uterary  labors.  This 
offer,  far  exceeding  any  previous  expectations  for  the  youth,  was 
gratefully  accepted.  But  his  mother  feared  that  his  sojourn 
under  a  strange  roof  might  Avean  him  from  her  "own  people," 
now  also  liis.  She  stipulated,  therefore,  that  he  shouM  always 
spend  the  night  at  home,  and  thus  gently  detained  liim  under 
the  spell  of  domestic  piety  and  the  power  of  religious  ordi- 
nances. In  process  of  tinu\  however,  tliis  precaution  became 
unnecessary,  and  was  abanchtiied. 

Considering  that  my  father's  ultimate  vocation  was  the 
Christian  ministry,  and  that  he  was,  almost  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his  career  in  life,  to  become  an  ecclesiastical  leader,  it 
is  impossible  to  repress  a  feeling  of  regret  that  he  was  not  sub- 
jected to  courses  of  study  more  directly  relating  to  the  sacred 
calling.  He  himself  always  mourned  over  his  irreparable  lack 
of  such  an  advantage.  But  Methodism  at  that  time  made  no 
provision  for  the  training  of  its  ministers  ;  and  God  directed  his 
])aths.  A  legal  education,  had  he  received  it,  could  scarcely 
liave  improved  his  naturally  quick  foculty  of  analysis  and  of 
arrangement;  his  cautious,  but  strong  and  ready  judgment; 
and  the  simplicity,  freedom,  and  force  of  his  style,  especially  as 
a  public  speaker;  nor,  in  the  then  existing  state  of  society, 
would  the  hal)its  and  associations  of  students  of  the  law  have 
been  favorable  either  to  his  moral  or  to  his  mental  progress. 
But  he  was  jilaced  under  the  conduct  of  a  scholar  and  of  a  man 
of  science.  The  knowledge  proper  to  a  profession  of  wide  and 
curious  I'ange,  but  of  an  earnest  and  a  kindly  purpose,  was 
spread  before  an  apt  and  incpiisitive  mind,  and  was  eagerly 
pursued.  The  study  of  general  literature  nurtured  his  genius 
and  refined  his  taste.  lie  was  taught  the  minutest  details  of 
the  art  of  composition.  Above  all,  he  was  familiarized  with 
tlie  consideration  and  discussion  of  public  events,  in  their  rela- 
tion to  order,  happiness,  and  religion. 

IMv  father  naturally  possessed  that  exquisite  modesty  of  mind 
which  is  the  main  element  of  gentlemanly  feeling.  But  in  the 
society  of  Dr.  Percival,  and  of  a  constant  succession  of  visitors, 
an  advantage  to  wliich  he  was  unreservedly  admitted,  he  ac- 
quired that  nice  polish  of  mamier  and  propriety  of  speech 
which  made  him  feel  himself  at  home  in  all  circles,  and  gave 


54  THE    LIFE   OF  .TAHEZ   HUNTING. 

him,  in  those  in  wWu-h  he  usnally  mixed,  a  pleasant  and  easy 
command.  The  Avriter  of  this  record  will  not  try  to  enforce 
the  lesson  it  sucrcjcsts.  But,  had  he  a  son  in  course  of  trainini? 
for  the  Methodist  ministry,  he  would  ask  him  to  pause  and 
ponder.  In  jtastoral  intercourse  with  the  intelligent  and  rich, 
but  especially  with  the  ignorant  and  i»oor,  how  f,'reat  the  value 
of  that  calm  self-possession,  of  that  quick  ol)senance  of  the 
points  which  attract  or  repel,  and  of  that  willing  nrbanity  of 
ai)i)roach,  which  are  among  the  earUest  aims  of  an  enlightened 
|)icty,  hut  Avhich  only  careful  and  conscientious  practice  can 
ripen  into  habit !  And  in  no  conununity  more  than  in  our  own 
does  a  manifest  anxiety  to  please  more  directly  tend  to  nseful- 
ness.  How  many  "otlcuscs"  are  avoided — oft'enscs  which  lead 
to  " strifes,"  and  these  to  disastrous  "divisions"  —  when  the 
tone  of  connnunication  among  ministers,  co-jiastors  of  the  same 
flock,  among  the  officers  who  regulate  the  minor  dei)artments 
of  Church  atfairs,  and  reciprocally  between  both  classes,  is  uni- 
formly considerate  and  courteous !  At  a  time  when  the  jNIeth- 
odist  ministry  is  advancing  so  raj)idly  to  its  true  jiosition  of  in- 
fluence in  this  coimtry — <>f  p<n\  er,  by  Ciod's  Idessing,  to  win 
multitudes  to  Christ — it  were  nothu)g  less  than  a  calamity  if 
every  possible  auxiliary  were  not  pressed  into  the  service.  The 
desire,  if  "  by  any  means,"  to  "  save  some"  will  not  despise  the 
use  of  aiijilianccs  so  simple,  yet  so  iniportant  as  those  of  man- 
ner and  address.  Wesley,  indeed,  in  a  meinorabli'  saying,  im- 
plored his  preachers  not  to  "  aftect  the  gentleman,"  telling  them 
that  they  had  "no  more  to  do  with  this  character  than  with 
that  of  a  dancing-master;"  and  there  have  been  cases,  ])erhaps, 
tjf  an  over-zealous  compliance  with  the  ]»recept.  Hut  it  must 
not  be  so  inteq)rete<l  as  to  deprive  us  (tf  ihe  benefit  of  his  own 
example,  and  of  that  of  many  of  his  associates  ami  inunediate 
successors ;  these  latter,  fashioned,  as  l)y  miracle,  into  the  sym- 
metry of  well-bred  men.  They  coiumitted  no  rudi-Jiesses,  neg- 
lected no  <)l)vious  ]iroprieti«"S,  affei-ti'il  no  c:irelessiu'ss  in  <irder 
to  hide  conscious  defects.  One  comprehensive  canon  ruled  the 
fpustion  with  them  :  "Giving  no  offense  in  (iny  t/tini/,  Xhai  the 
ministry  l>e  not  Idamed." 

It  wouhl  be  ungrateful  n(»t  to  refer  to  the  influence  which 
wa«  exercised  over  Dr.  I'ercival's  i>upil  by  the  excellent  and 
accomplished  la<lies  of  the  family.    They  honored  him  with 


MEDICAL    EDUCATION.  55 

their  friendsliip  at  n  time  wlien  the  kind  and  watchful  eye  (jf  a 
sensible  woman,  kept  constantly  upon  an  observant  and  sensi- 
tive young  man,  acts  at  once  as  encouragement  and  restraint. 
With  the  daughters  as  with  their  brothers,  he  cultivated  a  cor- 
dial but  respectfid  intimacy,  interrupted  only  as,  one  by  one, 
they,  with  a  solitary  exception,  passed  away  from  earth.  With 
the  sole  survivor,  the  youngest  son,  my  father,  after  many  years' 
separation,  had  an  interview  a  t'a^v  months  before  his  own  death, 
and  to  him  he  renewed  his  expressions  of  love  and  gratitude  to 
the  friends  of  his  youth.  It  can  not  be  in  any  sectarian  mood 
that  I  state  that  nearly  all  Dr.  Pcrcival's  descendants  still  liv- 
ing* are,  as  a  result  of  the  habit  of  personal  and  IVee  inquiry  so 
warmly  commended  to  them  by  his  example,  found  in  the  com- 
munion of  the  Estabhshed  Church,  and  that  many  of  them  now 
deceased  enjoyed  in  the  hour  of  departure  those  ministrations 
of  evangelical  truth  and  power  which  that  Church  so  abundant- 
ly possesses. 

Edward  Percival,  my  father's  early  friend,  after  practicing 
with  much  distmction  as  a  physician  in  Bath,  died  in  great 
l>cace  in  the  year  1819.  "I  have  no  Sjnrit ual  i^ains,''^  he  said, 
when  the  last  languors  crcjit  over  his  weary  frame,  "  and  that 
is  something  for  a  dying  man  to  feel."  Three  of  his  children 
sleep  ui  Binstead  Church-yard,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  Edward, 
his  eldest  son,  an  officer  in  the  Bengal  Artillery,  closed  his  life 
with  the  words  with  which  David  closed  the  twenty-third 
Psalm;  Thomas,  the  next  in  age,  with  those  of  Job — "I  know 
that  my  lledeemor  hvcth  ;"  and  Anjie,  a  married  daughter, 
quoted  fiom  the  same  Psalm  as  that  which  had  cheered  the 
death-bed  of  her  eldest  brother — "  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they 
comfort  me."  The  grave  of  Elizabeth  Sophia,  "  sixth  and  last- 
surviving  child,"  and  of  her  first-born,  is  sealed  with  this  text 
— "  To  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain." 

*  One  favored  lady  claims  Dr.  Percival  and  Archbishop  Mapce  as  her 
ancestors,  and  as  her  husband  the  great  Protestant  orator  of  Liverpool. 
Another  descendant  is  married  to  a  near  connection  rf  "the  good  arch- 
bishop," John  Bird  Sumner,  notwithstanding  differences  of  rank,  order, 
and  opinion,  the  property  and  pride  of  all  the  Churches.  Two  grandsons, 
collaterally  sprung  from  the  famous  Nonconformist.  Oliver  Ileywood,  have 
represented  their  native  county  in  Parliament.  The  third  generation,  in  the 
same  line  of  descent,  bids  fair  to  rival  the  earnest  philanthropy  and  public 
usefulness  of  those  gone  by. 


DO  THE   LIFK   VF  JAUKZ   BUXTIXO. 


CILVPTER  V. 

RELIGIOUS    AND    INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESS. 

fJoncral  Traininp  undor  Dr.  Pcrtival. — Influonccs  on  his  Cliamctor  and 
Opinions. — liclipiuiis  Improvement. — Formation  of  a  Society  for  the  Ac- 
quirement of  Knowledpe. — Rules. — Bond  of  Association. — Menihers. — 
fcjuhjects  discussed. — Essays  written  for  the  Society. — First  Exposition  of 
Holy  Scripture. — The  Prayer-mcctinp  at  James  Ashcroft's  House. — His 
End. — Jabez  Bunting's  first  public  Exhortation. — A  Trayer-lcadcr. — 
Manchester  Sunday-evening  rraycr-mcetings. 

The  four  years  spent  Avith  Dr.  Percival  were  the  only  inter- 
val between  my  father's  school-days  and  a  very  loni:^  and  active 
j)nblie  life.  Keli^^iously  and  intt'llectually,  ihcy  made  him  what 
he  became;  but  the  precise  modes  in  which  he  improved  them 
arc  left  very  much  to  conjecture.  It  is  known,  however,  that 
he  read  largely  with  and  to  his  master ;  wrote  otlcn  and  volu- 
minously, at  his  dictation,  upon  all  sorts  of  topics,  secular,  eth- 
ical, and  religious ;  atlende«l  such  courses  of  lectures,  on  sul>- 
jects  ]iroj)er  or  incident  to  his  new  jirofi'ssion,  as  were  accessi- 
ble to  him  in  a  provincial  town ;  exercise<l  himself  continually 
in  original  composition  ;  studied  men  and  manners,  in  the  large 
and  various  circle  of  friends  and  visitors  to  which  he  had  ob- 
tained so  iortunate  admittance;  devoured  newspapers;  busied 
liimself  in  thinking  and  talking  about  local  and  iiatioJial  ]»olitics; 
and,  altogether,  was,  by  the  time  he  attaineii  his  twentieth 
year,  a  man  ripe  for  the  business  of  life,  with  well-tried  tools, 
in  well-skilled  hands,  ready  for  use  in  whatever  kind  of  speeu- 
hitive  or  practical  Labor  he  might  be  called  to  follow.  IJest  of 
all  sciences,  he  had  learned  thoroughly  how  {(*  work. 

His  intellectual  jiowers  had  rapidly  matured  imder  the  favor- 
l)le  discipline  to  which  they  were  stibjected.  Young  mindu 
almost  necessarily  sharpen  each  other  by  nnitual  converse  and 
svinjiathv.  l>ut  seldom  does  a  youth  makt-  tin-  best  uSe  «tf  the 
society  of  the  aged.  My  father  enjoyed  and  prized  the  signal 
advantage  of  constant  intercourse  with  a  mind  acute  and  vig- 
orous, steadied  and  Htrung  up  to  its  best  possible  achievements 


RELIGIOUS   AXD   INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESS.  57 

bjalonfT  and  various  oxix'riciu'o  of  men  ami  things.    I'robably 
it  was  under  such  auspices  that  he  acquired,  so  soon  and  so 
remarkably,  that  almost  iiuiltless  accuracy  of  judgment  (no  one 
Avill  \mderstand  me  as  si)caking  of  any  particular  opinions) — 
that  supremacy  of  the  i»ure  reasoning  faculty  over  every  other 
l)0\ver  and  bias  of  the  soul,  which  all  who  studied  my  father's 
mental  character  agreed  to  recognize.     Nor  can  it  be  doubt- 
ed that  tlie  benefit  was  derived  as  much  from  points  of  differ- 
ence as  from  points  of  union  between  the  jihysician  and  his 
l>upil.     With  all  his  reverence  for  Dr.  Percival,  Jabez  Bunting 
must  have  felt  the  need  of  continual  and  severe  caution.     By 
how  much  the  former  was  devout  and  earnest  in  the  profession 
of  his  religious  faith,  by  so  much  it  would  tincture  the  whole 
course  and  current  of  liis  ideas ;  and,  on  subjects  of  religion, 
the  boy's  training  and  conscience  had  put  him  ever  on  his 
guard ;  so  that  much  would  need  careful  weighing  and  strict 
sifting ;  not  in  the  fierce  and  fickle  temper  of  a  doubter,  but  in 
the  spirit  of  a  man  avIio  durst  not  loose  his  hold  of  truth.     Yet 
many  of  Dr.  PercivaPs  precise  opinions  moulded  very  percep- 
tibly those  of  which  Dr.  Bunting  Avas  tlie  expounder  and  the 
advocate  during  a  long  pul)lic  life.     From  him,  I  doubt  not,  he 
derived  that  accurate  appreciation  of  the  nature,  lunits,  and  ad- 
vantages of  political  freedom  which,  taking  form  and  color,  but 
form  and  color  only,  from  the  quick  events  of  an  age  crowded 
with  histories,  made  him,  as  distinguished  from  those  whose 
opaijue  and  marble  prejudices  no  light  can  penetrate  nor  even 
earthquake  shake,  now  a  somewhat  advanced  Liberal,  then  a 
stern  and  thorough  Tory,  and,  not  imfretpiently,  both  in  one. 
As  for  religious  liberty,  the  standard  sentiment  of  the  tolerant 
Arian  Dissenter,  he  taught  his  young  disciple  well  the  right, 
but  more  the  duty  of  maintaining  it ;  and,  in  order  to  its  main- 
tenance, of  adopting  the  principle  boldly  as  a  whole,  and  to 
its  uttermost  logical  extent,  thus  only  defining  and  hedging  it 
from  other  })rincii)les  bordering  closely  on  it,  but  with  no  com- 
munity of  either  soil  or  product.*     And  an  invaluable  prepara- 

*  I  h.avc  heard  of  a  M.insion  House  dinner  at  which  an  honored  friend  of 
mine,  a  wise  and  wary  leader  of  Metropolitan  Dksent,  who  had  just  spoken 
to  the  toast  of  "Religions  Liberty,"  was  astonished  to  find  Imw  much  more 
clearly  and  courageously  the  case  was  put  when  Dr.  Bunting  also  rose  to 
respond.     The  Baptist  waxed  eloquent  on  the  right  of  every  man  to  hold 

C  2 


58  TIIK   IJFK    OF  JABEZ    lU-NTINT,. 

tiou  for  one  wlu)  was  to  lake  a  prominent  part  in  public  atluirs 
was  the  candor  which  })crva<le<l  Dr.  IVrcivaPs  spirit,  writings, 
and  acts.  The  habit  of  attentively  considerini;  what  can  bo 
said  on  the  other  niile,  and  the  circumstances  and  ])ossible  mo- 
tives of  him  who  says  it — the  result,  jjrimarily,  <>f  my  father's 
own  patient  and  generous  nature — was,  I  doubt  not,  greatly 
strengthened  by  observing  its  constant  i)racticc  on  the  part  of 
his  master,  and,  like  all  other  moral  discipline,  exercised  !U»d 
matured  the  intellect. 

Much  has  been  told  me  of  my  father's  steady,  earnest,  and 
unassunung  i)iety  during  this  period  of  his  life.  All  the  while 
that  his  mind  was  on  the  strain  for  improvement,  his  heart  was 
kept  right  Avith  God.  No  Diary,  indeed,  registers  his  daily  ex- 
periences, or  the  laint  remeud»rances  of  his  nightly  dreams. 
"The  secret  of  the  Lord"  was  with  His  servant  who  feared 
him,  and  it  was  well  kept — kept  as  He  who  m.ide  us  all  meant 
men  of  my  father's  mould  to  keep  it,  hid  in  tlie  silent  depths 
of  the  spirit  ;  talked  about,  indeed,  in  sacred  confidence,  to  those 
to  whom  also  it  had  bi'cn  intrusted,  autl  sometimes  testified  as 
a  fact,  not  for  show,  but  for  use,  to  those  who  could  not  muler- 
stand  it ;  but,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  he  never  vexed  and  tossed 
his  own  soul,  or  disturbed  the  faith  and  peace  of  others  by  ref- 
erences to  casual  and  transient  feelings  which  a  foggy  moniing 
may  j)roduce  and  a  gleam  of  sunshine  scatter.  Of  the  reality 
and  strength  of  religion,  action  is,  in  such  cases,  the  only,  as  in 
all  eases  it  is  the  truest  test. 

Long  before  his  conversion,  :ui  impression  liad  rested  on  liis 
mind  that  he  should  one  day  enter  the  Christian  ministry. 
Tlii>  im|»ression  would,  no  doubt,  exert  a  great  iiilliu'iice  \i\mn 
tlie  choice  and  conduct  of  his  studies  during  the  four  years  of 
his  engagement  with  Dr.  I'ercival.  It  is  plcisant  t«>  nurk  that, 
while  it  did  not  iu  any  degree  divert  him  from  the  one  profes- 
sion.'d  pursuit  to  which  presi-nt  «luty  and  prospects  urged  him, 
his  commonjtlace  bo(»ks  bi-tray  tlu-  constant  and  pi-rhaps  irr<'- 
sislible  bias  of  his  mind  to  subjects  directly  bearing  on  the 
sacred  calling. 

hi*  own  ripiniont ;  the  Methodist,  on  hi.i  riRht  to  propRjjnto  them.  Hut  tho 
latter  rxpntintcd  on  tlii;  HnvinR  of  a  Ilnpti.tl.  When,  in  isl.^,  n  ilc{iiita(ion 
fn»ni  tlini  l»<)cly  waited  upon  I^»rd  (Jn y  on  the  fcuhject  of  the  Indiii  Hill, 
*'  Lihcrty  V)  hold  i;*  n'>  lil'oriy  iit  nil,  fir  ynu  can  not  hinder  nic,"  snid  An- 
drew Fuller  to  ihn  iiNlnni'hcd  Whig  nnhlemnn. 


RELIGIOUS   AND   INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESS.  59 

In  170G,  a  boy  of  seventeen,  lie  hecamc  the  founder  of  "A 
Society  for  the  Acciuirenieiit  of  rehj^ious  Knowledge,  consist- 
iiif^  of  young  men  of  the  Methodist  connection  in  ^Manchester," 
the  rules  of  which,  written  by  himself,  and  of  his  own  composi- 
tion, appear  in  a  book  which  has  been  kindly  lent  to  me.  The 
objects  of  the  association  were,  "improvement  in  religious 
knowledge,  experience,  and  jiractice ;  and,  secondly,  a  conse- 
cpient  increase  both  of  the  dispositions  and  of  the  qualifications 
which  arc  essential  for  extensive  usefulness  in  the  Church  of 
Clirist  and  in  the  world  at  large."  It  was  prescribed  that  the 
society  should  meet  once  a  week,  and  that,  at  these  weekly 
meetings,  each  member,  in  rotation,  should  bring  forward  for 
consideration  some  subject  of  a  religious  nature,  and  communi- 
cate his  own  ideas  upon  it  in  writing;  or  he  might  propose 
passages  of  Scripture  or  quotations  from  religious  books  for  ex- 
planation. Every  sixth  meeting  was  employed  "  in  exercises 
wholly  and  directly  of  devotion." 

"To  this  end,"  says  the  paper  from  which  I  quote,  "let  each 
member  relate  his  religious  experience,  as  in  a  general  band  or 
love-feast,  but  with  a  particular  reference  to  the  eflects  of  this 
institution  on  his  mind;  stating,  after  a  cai-eful  examination, on 
the  one  hand,  whether  he  has  found  it  to  answer  those  bene- 
ficial purposes  of  instruction  and  editication  which  iirst  induced 
its  establishment,  and  whether  he  has  been  able,  by  the  Divine 
aid,  to  escape  those  dangers  to  which  such  societies  are  doubt- 
less exposed,  and  by  which  they  have  heretofore  been  rendered 
curses  instead  of  blessings ;  and  freely  acknowledging,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  he  be  conscious  of  any  declension  in  grace,  of  any 
decrease  in  simplicity  and  earnestness,  or  of  any  loss  of  the  life 
and  power  of  godliness.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  in- 
tention of  this  society  is  not  to  unhinge  and  to  unsettle,  but  to 
confirm  and  to  establish  the  faith  of  its  members  in  those  re- 
ligious principles  which,  as  Methodists,  they  have  alrea«ly  seen 
reason  to  adopt  and  profess,  as  well  as  to  capacitate  them  for 
defending  their  tenets  against  opponents  by  a  fuller  knowledge 
of  the  arguments,  from  Scripture  and  reason,  which  have  con- 
vinced their  own  minds,  and  overcome  all  objections  or  cavils 
to  the  contrary.  Let  the  utmost  simplicity  be  constantly  pre- 
served, so  that,  while  the  business  of  the  society  is  conducted 
with  perfect  order  and  regularity,  there  maybe  as  little  as  pos- 


60  THE   LIFK   OF  JABEZ   BUNTIXO. 

sililc  of  awkward  and  uiuu'ci'ssary  lonnality.  I^ct  all  nnbocom- 
iii<;  and  iniprojior  k-vity  c»f  spirit  lu-  avoiiUd  \\itli  |n'culiar  vij^i- 
lanco,  and  repressod,  if  it  should  ariso,  liy  ilio  solemn  thought, 
'  Thou,  (iod,  sccst  mc  !' " 

Tht-n  tluTo  follows  the  "Bond  of  Association,"  in  the  ToUow- 
ing  terms: 

"We,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  luiiii;  earnestly 
desirous  to  embrace  every  opjiortunity  of  religious  improve- 
ment, arc  of  opinion  that  an  institution,  on  the  i)lan  laid  down 
in  the  foregoing  rules  might,  if  jirojterly  conducted,  be  made 
liighly  useful  to  us  for  that  end  ;  because, 

"1.  It  is  at  once  our  absolute  duty  and  our  invahud)le  j>rivi- 
lege  to  cultivate,  by  every  means  in  our  power,  the  rational  and 
moral  faculties  with  which  God  has  graciously  endowed  us. 
For  those  faculties  arc  all  talents  tf>  be  improved,  and  the  de- 
linrtf  of  the  talent  is  itself  a  suflicieiit  rail  iipon  us  to  use  it. 
The  supply  of  the  means  is  the  recjuisition  of  the  duty. 

"  2.  The  more  perfectly  our  lioly  religion  is  known  and  under- 
stood, the  nutrc  amiable  and  reasonable  it  will  appear;  so  that 
a  fuller  knowledge  of  it  may  justly  be  ex)»e(tcd  to  j>roduce  a 
more  cheerful  obedience  to  its  laws,  and  a  stcailier  reliance  on 
its  truths,  (iuilt  of  any  kind  is  universally  alU>wed  to  be  ag- 
pp-avated  by  a  ]>rivious  knowledge  of  duty,  which  principle 
presupposes  ami  iniplii'S  the  advantage  of  kiu)Mlcdge  in  order 
to  practice. 

"3.  The  more  clearly  we  comprthcnd  the  nature  and  design, 
the  evidences  and  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  the  high  sanc- 
tions by  which  it  is  enforced,  the  better  (jualified  sliall  we  be- 
come for  extensive  usefuhu'ss  in  |»romoting  its  saving  influence 
among  our  fcljow-crcaturis ;  and  we  trust  that  to  this  increase 
of  abilitv  for  doinij  good,  an  increase  ol'thc  disposition  and  de- 
sire will  not  fail  to  be  superadded. 

*'  1.  The  jtursuit  of  religious  knowledge  is  ns  agreeable  as  it 
is  jtrofit.able;  and,  by  furnishing  a  source  of  ]ileas»ire  in  the 
higliest  degree*  rational  and  pious,  may  be,  tuidi-r  ( Jod,  no  in- 
considerable mean  of  counteracting  those  allurcnuiits  to  fash- 
ionable an<l  foolish  annisements  which  t<to  «inen  draw  aside  the 
young  and  unstable  into  forbi<ldeii  paths. 

".1,  The  formation  of  a  society  expressly  for  tlie  purpose  is 
a  probable  method  of  attaining  these  praiseworthy  and  import- 


RELIGIOUS  AND   INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESS.  61 

nnt  objects,  because  it  incites,  by  example  and  emulation,  to  ar- 
dor and  dilicjcnce  of  jmrsuit,  and  provides  opportunities  fur  the 
mutual  comniiniicatioii  of  opinit)ns,  in  which  '  thoutjlit  begets 
thought,'  and  truth,  like  lire,  is  jtut  in  motion  by  collision. 

"  6.  Sucli  an  association  of  Christian  brethreJi,  by  making 
them  better  acquainted  with  each  other,  encourages  and  en- 
larges that  communion  of  saints,  which,  while  it  draws  closer 
and  closer  the  bonds  of  private  and  individual  amity,  is  also  a 
very  powerful  ol)ligation  to  zeal  and  perseverance  in  religion. 
For,  as  a  personal  attachment  to  the  beloved  companions  of 
their  folly  is,  witli  many,  the  chief  uidiappy  tie  which  retains 
them  in  the  service  of  sin,  notwithstanding  their  full  conviction 
of  the  danger  and  misery  in  which  that  service  involves  them 
— as  such  an  attachment  seldom  fails  considerably  to  obstruct 
(and  sometimes  entirely  prevents)  the  accom|jlishment  of  good 
desires  and  resolutions  in  those  wlio  begin  to  throw  oft*  the 
yoke  of  Satan,  so  it  is  hoped  that  the  aftection  of  the  members 
of  the  pro])oscd  society,  one  to  the  other,  will  strengthen  and 
confirm  their  love  and  attachment  to  that  connnon  cause  which 
interests  and  engages  them  all,  and  thus  be  a  most  eftectual  dis- 
suasive and  preservative  from  backsliding.  Mr.  "Wesley,  with 
his  usual  terseness  and  force  of  expression,  somewliere  speaks 
of  a  certain  class  of  smners  as  ^  f/oinr/  to  lull  for  company  ;""  so, 
among  many  other  reasons  which  Christians  have  for  going  to 
heaven^  they  love  one  another  so  well  that  they  are  determined 
to  go  thither /or  C07ni>any. 

"  We  are  aware,  however,  of  the  dangers  which  may  attend 
such  an  institution.  But  the  liability  to  abuse  is  no  sound  ar- 
gument against  the  use  of  it ;  and,  although  these  possible  dan- 
gers will  call  for  particular  and  unwearied  vigilance  to  obviate 
them,  yet  we  conceive  they  would  by  no  means  justify  us  in 
giving  uj)  an  undertaking  which  promises  advantages  so  many 
and  so  desirable. 

"  By  these  and  other  weighty  considerations,  we  are  led  to 
form,  and  ice  do  hereby  form  ourselves  into  a  society  for  relig- 
ious improvement,  on  the  })lan  pointed  out  in  the  preceding 
rules,  by  which  we  agree  to  be  governed  so  long  as  we  shall 
continue  to  be  members.  We  will,  by  all  means,  promote  the 
honor  and  success  of  the  institution;  and  we  eamestly  beseech 
the  God  of  all  grace  so  to  bless  our  undertaking,  that  we  may 


62  THE    LIFE   OF   .TAREZ   nUXTIXG. 

each  become  wise  unto  salvation,  ami  wise  to  win  souls.  These 
are  our  two  praml  and  eomnion  objects.  And  wc  will  endeav- 
or to  try  all  our  knowledge  by  the  apostolic  to.vt :  '77ie  Wis- 
dom from  above  /.<  }>un\  jMarftihlt\  <ffnth\  ntH]f  to  he  entreated., 
full  of  mrrei/  and  ;/ood  fruit tt,  without  ]>4irti<illtij  (or,  as  the 
margin  reads,  irithout  irra?if/finf/),  and  trithout  hi/pocritoj. '  " 

This  document  is  signed  by  Jabez  Hunting;  by  James  Wood 
and  John  Marsden,  both  of  whose  names  have  been  already 
mentioned  ;  by  Edward  Westhead,  alti-rward  of  considerable 
note  among  the  31anehester  ^Methodists,  a  man  of  sterling  worth 
and  of  most  generous  and  amiable  temper,  and  the  father  of  one 
of  the  present  members  ior  the  city  of  York  ;  by  William  Ben- 
nett, for  nearly  sixty  years  a  minister  in  Nova  Scotia ;  by  Ed- 
ward Jones,  almost  forty  years  a  minister,  anil  one  of  the  ])rin- 
cipal  founders  of  Methodism  in  North  Wak'S  ;  by  Solomon  Ash- 
ton,  afterward  an  Independent  minister  at  Stockport ;  by  Josh- 
ua Kea,  George  Ikirton,  John  lleywood,  and  James  ]\Iorris, 
early  and  intimate  friends  of  my  father ;  and  by  Luke  Gray  and 
John  Worsley,  who  still  survive. 

The  society  seems  to  have  ])roceeded  very  ])rospcronsly  for 
several  years,  discussing  all  soits  of  sultjects  with  considerable 
courage.  "The  Being  of  (iod  ;"  "The  Attributes  of  God  ;" 
"  What  is  Eaith,  and  how  it  justifies  ?"  "  \\'hat  are  the  Motives 
that  induce  Men  to  serve  (iod?"  "The  I'roof  of  the  Day  of 
(irace  being  past ;"  "The  ( )j)('rations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
S(jul  of  Man;''  "The  Ereedom  of  the  Ihunan  Will,"  settled  to 
every  body'n  a|)j)rehension,  after  two  discussions;  "The  Eall 

of  Man;"  "The  .Millemiium  ; Phe  Device's  of  Satan  ;"  "The 

<^)ngin  ;md  Nature  of  Sin  ;"  "The  NattU'e  of  the  I'np.'irdonnble 
Sin;"  "The  Crinu'  of  Apostasy,  and  the  Sin  unto  I)e;ilh  ;" 
"The  Benelits,  Dangc-rs,  and  Duties  restdting  iVom  the  Institu- 
tion of  a  Society  for  the  Attainnu-nt  of  lieligious  Knowleilge;" 
"  The  Hidings  of  (iod'H  Eace ;"  "  Self-<lenial ;"  "  Prayer ;"  "  The 
Doctrine  of  the  Atonement;"  "What  is  Man?"  "The  Pas- 
sions of  the  Human  Heart  ;"  "The  Duty  of  Ze.al  and  Activity 
in  ])romoting  Piety;"  "The  Inunatcriality  and  Immortality  of 
the  Soul;"  "The  Nature  and  Oflices  of  Conscience ;"  "The 
Conduct  proper  to  be  pursued  by  Young  Men  with  regard  to 
^Marriage" — by  "Brother  Westliea<l  ;"  "The  Origin  of  the 
Soul" — which  perplexed  them  for  three  nights;  "Proofs  of  the 


RELIGIOUS  AND   INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESS.  63 

Doctrine  of  tho  Trinity,  and  of  the  Divinity  of  tlio  Son  and 
Spirit ;"  "  The  Sin  of  Evil-speaking  ;"  "  Fashionable  Amuse- 
ments"— a  paper  read,  in  three  parts,  on  three  successive  even- 
ings;  "The  Doctrine  of  Providence;"  "  The  Fourth  Command- 
ment;"  -'The  Benefits  of  Affliction  ;"  "Friendship;"  "The 
Fear  of  .Man  ;"  "The  Lawfuhiess  and  Expediency  of  a  Chris- 
tian's bearing  Arms  for  the  Defense  of  tlie  Country  against  a 
French  Invasion" — two  papers;  "Is  it  proper  and  expedient 
that  Uehgious  Persons  should  immcfUatchj  come  forward  to 
learn  the  Use  of  Arms,  and  in  what  Mode  ought  they  to  offer 
their  Services':'"  "The  Resurrection  and  (iloritication  of  the 
Body;"  "Tiie  Combat  between  the  Flesh  and  the  Spirit;" 
"  The  final  Perseverance  of  the  Saints ;"  "  The  Perfection  of 
the  Saints  in  Heaven;"  "The  Means  necessary  to  be  used  in 
])romoting  the  Kevival  of  Keligion  ;"  "The  Legahty  of  eating 
Blood,  or  things  strangled  ;"  "The  Evidences  of  Christianity  ;" 
"  The  Man  of  Sin  ;"  "  Is  it  lawful  for  Women  to  Preach  ?" 
"Contentment;"  "Good  Works;"  "On  the  best  Means  of 
knowing  the  Will  of  God  in  any  case ;"  "  Is  a  Child  born  pure '?" 
—  a  subject  which  Lord  Palmerston  had  not  then  settled; 
"Doth  a  Believer  sin,  and  how  far  is  a  Believer  sanctified  when 
justified  V" — considered  four  nights,  and  recorded  as  dismissed  ; 
"  The  Duties  of  the  Young ;"  "  the  Church  Catechism ;"  "  Were 
the  Apostles  Converted  Men  before  the  Day  of  Pentecost  ?" 
"  Baptism" — occupying  three  nights,  on  the  last  of  wliich  "  two 
pamphlets  were  read,  one  fV>r,  the  other  against  Infant  Ba])tism  ; 
in  doing  this  all  the  time  was  taken  uj) ;"  "The  State  of  Adam 
before  the  Fall ;"  "  The  Witness  of  the  Spirit ;"  "  Confonnity 
to  tlie  World ;"  "  Marriage" — again  by  "  Brother  Westhead," 
"  which  was  discoursed  upon  by  the  brethren,  and  left  for  far- 
ther discussion;"  "  Is  God  the  .Vuthor  of  Sin?"  "The  Eternity 
ofllellTonnents;"  "How  is  Faith  the  Gift  of  God ?"— these 
and  other  matters  sharpened  the  wits  ot  the  young  disciples. 

After  "  Brother  Bunting"  went  to  his  first  circuit,  he  attend- 
ed very  few  meetings  of  the  society,  and  it  ai>pears  to  have 
come  to  a  speedy  end.  "  Brother  Ashton  not  coming  prepared 
with  his  subject,  that  passage  of  Scripture,  'Be  ye  wise  as  ser- 
pents and  harmless  as  doves,'  was  conversed  upon  by  the  breth- 
ren." "  Brother  Ashton  being  absent,  Brother  Hull  proposed 
for  consideration, '  Is  the  brute  creation  imnaortal  ?' "   "  The  reg- 


64  TUE   LIFK   UP'  JABKZ   HINTING. 

ular  subject  not  beint;  Itnmiilit  forwnnl,  that  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, '  Cast  not  yctur  jiearls  before  swine,'  "  was  considered. 
"Tlie  jiassage  ot" Scripture  wliieh  relates  to  the  destruction  ot" 
the  children  by  the  bears  was  considered ;''  w  hieh,  with  a  few 
more  discussions  on  "  The  Millenniiun,''  "  The  Origin  of  the 
Soul,"  and  "ThoOritjin  of  Evil,"  terminated  a  course  of  nearly 
four  years'  somewhat  comprehensive  ranije  of  topics.  Tlu' 
meetings  were  held  sometimes  at  live  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  at  others  at  lialf  past  eight  in  the  evening. 

My  father  wrote  cojiiously  in  preparation  lor  some  of  the  dis- 
cussions Avhich  took  jjlace  at  this  society.  Three  elaborate  es- 
says are  still  extant;  one  "On  the  Freedom  of  the  Will,"  con- 
sidered December  15th  and  2L'd,  17!»G;  the  second,  "On  the 
Benefits,  Dangers,  and  Duties  resulting  from  the  Institution  of 
a  Society  for  Keligious  Imjjrovement,"  a  kind  of  inaugural  ad- 
dress, read,  rather  too  late,  on  April  2Vth,  1707;  the  third  on 
Amusi'iuents  in  general,  with  particular  references  to  Theatrical 
Entertaimnents,  Operas,  the  Circus,  Cards,  and  other  games  of 
chance.  Dancing,  Balls  and  Assemblies,  Masquerades,  Cock- 
fightings,  Horse-races,  and  the  ]»erusal  of  Novels  and  Plays — 
read  on  November  'j;{d  and  :{()th,  171(7.  He  also  read,  in  De- 
cember, 1790,  and  altir  he  had  gone  t<»  his  first  circuit,  a  paper 
on  "the  best  Means  of  discovering  the  Will  of  (Jod,  being  an 
abridgment  of  a  Paper  on  that  Subject  found  at  length  in  Pike 
and  Havwiird's  'Cases  of  Conscience.' "  The  length  of  these 
documents  ])reclu<le8  the  ])Ossibility  of  transferring  to  these 
pages  any  such  extracts  from  them  as  w duld  illustrate  the  young 
writer's  powers  of  thought  and  style.  Hut,  without  disturbing 
the  course  of  my  narrative,  I  placi-  in  the  .\])pendix*  some  sliort- 
cr  papers  whieli  will  answer  the  same  purpose. 

Probably  the  niiiiule-book  of  tlu-  society  records  his  first  at- 
tcin]it  to  expoiu)d  Holy  Scripture.  "Thursday  morning,  De- 
cember '20th,  1700,  l>r<»ther  Kea  being  detained  by  indisposi- 
tion, the  j)resident,  .1.  liunting,  read  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Komans,  which  aflbrded  matt«r  for  con\ers.a- 
ti..n." 

A  minute  dated  Decendter  14th,  1707,  also  coimects  itself 
with  the  earliest  exerci.ses  of  his  talents  in  the  de|)artn>ent  he 
so  long  occupied.     "It  was  unanimously  resolved,  (1.)  That, 

•  A|iiK:iiilicc.H  C  nii'l  D. 


RELIGIOUS   AND   INTELLECTUAL    PROGRESS.  65 

as  it  is  one  of  tlie  great  and  common  objects  of  this  institution 
to  promote  an  increase  of  tlie  dispositions  and  qualifications  es- 
sential to  extensive  usefulness,  it  is  highly  desirable  that  we 
should  imite,  as  a  body,  in  the  prosecution  of  some  plan  by 
■\vliich  Ave  may  evince  our  ardent  desire  to  win  souls,  and  have 
an  op])ortunity  of  bringuig  into  use  and  exercise  that  degree 
of  spiritual  knowledge,  whatever  it  be,  which,  by  Divine  help, 
we  have  accpurcd.  ('J.)  That  the  in-ayer-meeting  in  Cross 
Lane,  which  a  few  members  of  this  society  have  for  some  time 
past  carried  on,  appears  to  furnish  us  with  such  an  opportuni- 
ty, and  that  we  will  conscientiously  embrace  it  by  attending  in 
rotation,  Avith  such  other  Christian  friends  as  may  join  us  in 
this  good  work.  {'.].)  That,  for  this  j)urj)Ose,  a  plan  be  pre- 
pared previously  to  Thursday,  the  21st  instant,  to  be  then  laid 
before  us  for  examination  and  adoption." 

A  "  Plan  for  Attendance  on  the  Meeting  in  Cross  Lane"  was 
proposed  and  adopted  at  the  next  meeting.  Five-and-twenty 
persons,  generally  in  detachments  of  four,  were  appointed  to 
attend  on  successive  Sunday  afternoons,  and  groui)ed  together 
are  the  names  of  William  Birch,  James  Wood,  John  Marsden, 
Edward  Wcsthead,  and  Jabez  Bunting ;  and,  again,  those  of 
Tiobert  Barnes,  George  AVoollam,  James  ]Morris,  and  Jabez 
I>unting ;  the  first  of  those  last-mentioned  reminding  me  of  a 
man  of  whom  my  father  often  spoke  as  an  example  of  Christian 
activity  and  zeal,  and  whose  son  and  namesake  has  honorably 
distinguished  himself  in  his  native  city. 

This  prayer-meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  one  James 
Ashcroft,  a  mechanic,  then  a  Avell-meaning  man,  but  a  fanatic. 
Ilis  fellow-workmen  used  to  laugh  at  his  profession  of  religion. 
One  day  their  mockery  was  more  than  usually  keen,  and  he 
grew  angry.  "  I  do  love  Christ,"  he  shouted, ''  and  I  can  burn 
for  Ilim ;"  Avith  which  words  he  thrust  his  hand  into  the  fire, 
and  held  it  there  until  he  thought  his  testimony  complete.  But 
his  Avas  an  "  aguish  Ioac,"  if  it  Avas  ever  real ;  and,  tAventy  years 
afterward,  this  same  man,  his  son,  his  brother,  and  one  William 
Ilolden,  Avere  convicted,  at  the  Lancaster  Assizes,  uj)on  evidence 
Avhich  their  OAvn  admissions  elicited,  of  a  murder  connnitted  in 
open  day  upon  two  Avomen,  at  Pendleton,  near  Manchester, 
Avithin  half  a  mile  of  the  house  Avhere  the  prayer-meeting  had 
been  held.    All  the  prisoners  had  pleaded  "  Not  giiilty ;"  and 


66  TIIH    LIFE   OK  JAUEZ    BL'NTlN(i. 

^vlicn  the  vcnlict  was  given,  James  Aslicroft,  being  demanded 
why  judguK'Ht  of  deatli  should  not  be  i)assed  upon  him,  said, 
*' Bec-ausi'  so  many  hes  liave  been  told  ot*  tis ;  and  I  pray  that 
God  Ahnighty  would  even  now  send  down  upon  that  table  the 
auLrels  of  those  nnu'dered  women  to  testify  of  our  iimocencc." 
The  three  other  conviets  gave  similar  repHes ;  and,  when  the 
h\st  had  finished,  all  eried  aloud,  "  Yes,  we  are  all  innocent,  and 
ire  shdll  die  di<-l<irinf/  our  hoiocencey  Then  James  Ashcroft, 
waving  a  handherchief,  with  a  voice  which  shook  the  very 
hearts  of  the  by-standers,  exclaimed,  "•  Glory  be  to  God,  we  are 
innocent,  and  we  shall  die  innocent.'"  Three  days  after  they 
were  led  to  the  scaffold.  First  llolden  addressed  the  crowd, 
strongly  denying  the  Justice  of  the  sentence;  then,  and  in  Hke 
terms,  David  Ashcroft.  The  father  then  kissed  his  son ;  but 
neither  spoke  to  the  other  nor  to  the  people.  All  four,  in  their 
last  solemn  prayers,  appealed  to  the  Great  Searcher  of  hearts 
that  they  were  guiltless  of  the  crime  for  which  they  were  about 
to  suffer.  This  f)ver,  they  stood  in  grim  array  while  the  hang- 
man pulled  down  upon  tlieir  faces  the  coverings  which  were  to 
veil  their  dying  shame,  and  looked  warily  to  see  that  the  fatal 
cords  were  surely  tie<l.  Then  rose,  as  by  some  token  before 
agreed  ujion,  a  dull  and  mufUed  sound.  The  wretched  crea- 
tures sang,  upon  the  brink  of  death,  that  same  Psalm,  with 
words  fnjm  A\liieh  trembling  on  his  lips  John  Wesley  went  to 
Paradise : 

"  I'll  jtrnisc  my  Maker  wliilc  I've  breath, 
And,  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  emjjloy  my  nohlcr  powers ; 
My  days  of  jiraisc  shall  ne'er  he  i)ast, 
While  life,  and  thought — "♦ 

Ilut  here  the  drop  fell.  And  those  four  startled,  shuddering 
souls  took  their  forced  leap  into  the  gulf  that  yawned  to  meet 
them  ;  an«l  there  were  heard  the  dccj)  gas]i  and  sigh  of  the  huge, 
gazing  multitude;  and  then  four  dead  bodies  swimg  heavily  to 
atid  fro  in  the  life-laden  air  of  morning ! 

We  shrink  naturally  from  believing  that  the  last  words  of  the 
de|»arting  are  intentionally  false,  and  for  some  time  the  popular 

*  The  verse  continues  : 

"And  being  last, 
Or  immortality  cndnrcs." 


RELIGIOUS   AND   INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESS.  67 

feeling  ran  in  tliis  direction.  And  so,  Avhcn  it  was  rumored,  long 
afterward,  that  anotlior  man,  on  his  deatli-bcd,  had  cleared  up 
tlie  mystery  by  declaring  himself  the  only  murderer,  some  im- 
])ression,  not  yet  entirely  eftaced,  was  again  created  that  the  law 
had  missed  its  proper  victim.  But  all  who  read  the  records  of 
the  trial,  and  are  accustomed  to  weigh  evidence,  will  feel  a  com- 
fortless persuasion  that  James  Ashcroft  Avas  an  accomplice  in 
the  bloody  deed.  "  Lord,  Lord,  thou  hast  taught  in  our  streets ! 
l>ut  He  shall  say,  I  tell  you  I  know  you  not  whence  ye  are." 
"•  IJut  what !  is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  he  should  do  this  great 
thing V"  "Some  fell  ui)on  stony  jjlaces,  where  they  had  not 
much  earth ;  and  forthicith  they  sprung  vj)^  because  they  had 
no  deepness  of  earth ;  and  when  the  sun  was  up,  they  were 
scorched,  and  because  they  had  no  root,  they  withered  away." 
"  Wherefore,  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest 
he  fall."  "Which  of  these  passages  furnishes  the  solution  of  this 
strange  story  ? 

It  was  at  James  Ashcroft's  doorway,  one  Sunday  afternoon 
early  in  1798,  that  my  father  first  addressed  a  congregation  on 
religious  subjects.  He  stood  up,  and,  after  singing  and  prayer, 
delivered  a  short  extemporaneous  exhortation,  without  a  text, 
to  such  passers-by  as  the  service  itself,  or  the  speaker's  youth, 
induced  to  stop  and  listen.  During  the  sittings  of  the  Confer- 
ence in  ]\Lanchester  in  1849,  he  passed  and  noted  the  place,  and 
related  the  story  of  the  murderer. 

In  the  mean  time,  he  had  become  a  regular  "  prayer-leader." 
In  those  days,  the  main  strength  and  eftbrts  of  zealous  young 
Methodists  were  spent  upon  the  adult  rather  than  upon  the 
yoiuig,  and  Manchester  was  pei-vaded  by  a  system  of  prayer- 
meetings,  held  principally  after  chapel-hours  on  Sunday  even- 
ings, by  means  of  which  the  water  of  life,  fresh  from  the  fount- 
ain of  the  sanctuary,  Avas  carried  to  large  multitudes  of  peo])le 
who  themselves  never  fetched  it.  Small  companies  were  collect- 
ed together,  generally  in  cottages,  and  the  simple  services  at- 
tracted ready  and  general  sym])athy.  Short  hymns,  short 
prayers,  and  short  but  earnest  addresses — exercises  suited,  not 
to  the  stated  worship  of  the  Church,  but  to  the  awakening  of 
ignorant  and  careless  smners — roused  the  attention  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  a  respect  for  religion  was  induced  where  its  power  was 
imknown  or  but  little  felt.     At  these  meetings,  too,  many  who 


68  THE   LIFE   OF  JAUEZ    lirNTIN(;. 

lonpi'd  for  llio  privilctjcs  of  the  SaLbatli,  but,  busy,  ])crsccnte(l, 
or  ashaiiu'il  of  ragm'<l  jtovcrty,  liabitiially  wi'iit  without  ihein, 
hailed  its  dawn  as  its  curlew  sounded,  and,  while  the  bi'll  ranj; 
out  the  day,  seized  eaijerly  its  evening  blessin<;.  And  great  was 
tlie  advantage  realized  by  those  wlio  led  the  humble  devotions. 
It  was  the  drill  of  the  jHivate  ;  it  was  that,  and  niueh  more,  to 
those  who  w  ere  thereal\er  to  head  the  armies  of  Israel.  These 
came  into  close  contact  with  tlic  common  i)eoi)le,  and  were 
taught  that  jjrcciousness  of  common  gifts;  while,  "by  reason 
of  use,"  talents  were  developed,  the  best  direction  of  them 
gradually  ascertained,  piety  deepened,  and  a  healtliy  glow  of 
encouragement  and  of  hope  thrown  into  the  laborer's  own 
heart  and  around  the  expected  service  of  a  lifetime.  City  mis- 
sions are  a  great  modern  institute;  but  the  agency  of  whiclj  I 
now  speak  is  something  even  simi>ler  :u)d  more  extensive,  and 
bores  more  deeply  and  directly  into  the  lowest  strata  of  society. 
It  is  not  the  casual,  nor  even  the  periodic-al  ^  isit,  however  use- 
ful, of  the  hired  missionary,  but  the  erection  in  every  lane  an<l 
alloy  of  the  standard  of  (iospel  ordinances.  And  all  of  average 
intelligence  may,  luidcr  ])roiier  regulations,  engage  in  this  work. 
It  riMpjires  no  jiecuniary  <iutlay;  it  may  be  set  about  the  very 
next  Sunday  evening;  and,  evi-n  when  con<luctcd  on  the  larg- 
est scale,  it  is  happily  disencumbered  of  all  that  apparatus  «.r 
wheel  and  weight  which  imi)e<les  so  many  efl'orts  to  do  good. 
*'A  J'lan  of  the  Metho<lists'  Sunilay-evcniiig  Prayer-meetings 
in  Manchester,"  for  the  cpiartcr  comnu-ncing  September,  ITOs, 
mid  signed  "  Jabez  IJunting,  :i.'>  Church  Street,  Secretary," 
would  be  placed  in  the  Appendix,  but  that  the  size  of  the  sheet 
forbids  its  insertion.  It  bears  the  names  of  two  hundred  and 
twelve  prayer-leaders,  the  llower  of  the  society,  who  regularly 
\isited  sixtv-fom-  j»laceH  in  the  town  and  in  its  iniinediati-  neigh- 
borh()od. 

I  conjecture  that  tlu'  "Kulcs  of  the  Manchester  Methodists' 
Praver-meetings,"  and,  in  tin-  same  little  piunphlet,  the  "  Direc- 
tions concerning  Prayer  an<l  Prayer-meetings,"  were  jmblished 
alMMit  this  period.  The  latter  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,* 
as  containing  much  that  is  of  j»ermanenl  value;  and  1  like  their 
good  old  Methodist  flavor. 

•  Sec  Ap|>cnJix  E. 


TRAINING   FOK  THE  SERVICE   OF   METHODISM.  69 


CILVTTER  VI. 

TRAINING  FOK  THE   SERVICE   OF   M^ETHODISM. 

Ministers  in  cnrly  Life.— Murlin.— rawson. — Lcc— Thompson. — Taylor. 
— Uoilda.  —  lIoiipiT.  —  A  Jam  Clarke.  — Bradburn.  —  Mather. — Kutlier- 
fi^.rd. — Barber. — The  Connectional  Disputes  of  1705  and  1797. — Jabez 
Bunting's  Interest  in  them. — Their  Eflcct  upon  his  Opinions  and  rolicj-. 

TiiKiiE  were  other  preachers  besides  Joseph  Benson  whose 
ministry  and  pa.stor:il  care,  Liit,  .above  all,  their  ch.ir.ictcr  and 
example,  trained  Jabcz  Bunting  for  the  service  of  ]\Iethodism. 
But  how  upon  my  narrow  canvas  are  so  many  figures  to  be 
crowded  ?  Murlui,  Pawson,  Lee,  Thompson,  Taylor,  Kodda, 
Hopper,  Bradburn,  Clarke,  ]Mather,  Rutherford,  and  Barber,  to 
say  nothing  of  others,  very  useful  in  their  day,  but  whose  indi- 
vidual labors  h.ave  left  an  impression  on  posterity  less  distinct 
and  lasting,  were  all  stationed  in  the  Manchester  circuit  during 
the  period  of  my  father's  childhood  and  youth. 

IMiKLiN, "  the  weeping  prophet,"  who  lies  in  Wesley's  grave; 
Pawsox,  a  remarkable  inst.ance  of  a  moderate  capital  of  natural 
gifts  so  luisbanded,  improved,  and  consecrated  as  to  enrich  and 
bless,  to  an  incalculable  extent,  both  its  possessor  and  thous.ands 
who  came  within  his  influence — some  of  whose  dying  expres- 
sions were,  "  Christ  died  for  me.  I  am  mounting  to  the  throne 
of  God  !  Where  would  you  have  me  go  ?"  "  Tommy  Lee," 
whom  Grimshaw  first  employed  as  an  itinerant,  and  who  was  as 
well  mobbed,  and  as  often  beaten,  stoned,  and  duekcd  as  any  man 
of  his  time,  besides  being  once  painted  all  over  for  the  truth's 
sake ;  Thomas  Taylor,  clever,  confident,  hard-working,  but  al- 
together humble  and  innocent,  who,  when  stationed  in  Glas- 
gow, "•  frequently  desired"  his  "  landlady  not  to  provide  any 
thing  for  diimer,  and,  a  little  before  noon,"  dressed  himst-lf  "  and 
walked  out  till  after  dimier,"  and  then  came  home  to  his  ''hun- 
gry room  with  a  hungry  belly,"  while  "  she  thought  he  had 
dined  out  somewhere,  and"  he  "  saved  his  credit ;"  and  whose 
brave  words,  uttered  in  a  sermon  preached  the  night  before  he 
died — "  I  should  like  to  die  hke  an  old  soldier,  sword  m  hand" 


70  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

— Ptriu'k  a  chord  iipon  the  linrjt  of  Montixoincry  wliich  will  vi- 
brato whili'  tiinc  ondurt's  ;*  Kouda,  a  Cornish  num>r,  saved  by 
tlie  interference  of  a  pood  Cjuakcr  from  being  impressed  and 
fient  to  the  Havana,  and,  by  the  fact  of  his  having  knelt  to 
jiray,  from  being  crushed  to  atoms  in  tlie  nunes,  and  who  died, 
after  loiii;  vi'ars  of  l:iV)or,  of  ''  a  long  succession  of  damp  beils  ;" 
CuKisToruEK  IKuTKK,  elo(juent,  energetic,  and  clVectiN c,  \vh<ise 
written  experience  comprises  a  creed  worthy  to  stand  by  the 
side  of  those  elaborated  by  councils  of  divines,f  and  whose 
life  was  modeled  upon  the  advice  given  to  him  in  a  moment 
of  peril  by  Wesley  :  ''Stand  \\\nm  the  edge  of  this  world,  ready 
to  take  wing;  having  your  feet  on  earth,  your  eyes  and  heart 
in  lieaven" — these  six  their  "own  son  in  the  Gosj)el,"  the  ven- 
erable Thomas  Jackson,  has  embalmed,for  tlie  most  part  in  their 
own  grave  and  simple  language,  in  the  three  volumes  of ''TIk 
Lives  of  Karly  ^Methodist  Preachers,"  publishe<l  at  the  Coimer- 
tioiial  IJook  K-tablislinient  in  lt<;58;  volumes  which,  to  the  great 

•  "  Sonant  of  (Jml,  well  done  I 

Ufst  from  thy  loved  employ,"  etc. 
Montjjomery's  Po«>ticnl  Works,  edition  1S.")0,  jmRC  30.">. 

t  "  I  eon  liny  l>ut  little  alxiut  the  controversy  between  the  Cnlvininn  breth- 
ren nnd  the  Armininns.  I  believe  Christ  tnsted  death  for  cverj-  man  ;  but 
I  do  not  love  contention  ;  I  nin  no  disiuitnnt ;  I  then-fore  leave  i>oleniical 
divinity  to  men  of  learning,  nbilitiex,  and  exi>ericnce.  I  can  only  say,  I 
have  l>een  j;realiy  liuinlil'd  for  my  sin.  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed. 
I  know  God  is  love.  I  know  it  by  exj)crience.  He  hath  loved  me,  and 
given  His  Son  for  nie.  I  have  jKinec  with  God,  through  faith  in  the  lilood 
of  f'hrifit.  I  nm  nt  peace  with  nil  the  saints,  with  all  who  love  the  I<ord 
Jenuii  Christ  in  sincerity.  I  desire  to  fidlow  after  pence  with  all  men.  I 
hate  Hin,  and  by  the  pracc  of  God  I  overcome  it.  I  love  holiness,  the  whole 
mind  that  was  in  Christ,  and  I  pursue  it.  Hy  nil  menus  I  follow  on,  if  I 
may  nppnhend  that  fi)r  which  I  was  also  npprchendcd  of  Christ  Jesus.  I 
nim  nt,  wi»h,  nnd  prny  f<«r,  nil  tlial  prnce.  glory,  and  immortality  promised 
br  thf"  Knther,  nnd  jirorurcd  by  the  Son  of  His  love.  This  I  call  Hible  re- 
ligion, genuine  Christianity;  nnd  this  religion  I  call  mine.  This  I  desire 
to  recommend  to  all  men  by  preaching  His  word  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  hotise, 
and  in  the  way ;  in  si-nson  and  out  of  season,  occording  to  my  ability. 
Without  this  religion,  all  names,  notions,  and  forms,  among  all  sectts  and 
parties,  are  but  mi-re  jmrnde  nnd  i<lle  sliow.  Without  reiK-ntnnce,  without 
faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  without  holiness  of  henrt  nnd  lifi-,  withoiU  lov( 
to  God  nnd  mnn.  nil  is  nothing.  Let  nil  men  consider  this  well,  and  jirny 
for,  nnd  seek  after,  this  one  thing  needful,  thnt  they  mny  br-  saved  from  »iD 
io  thin  lif<',  and  fiom  hell  in  the  great  day  of  the  Lord  Jcuua!" 


TUAIXING   FOR  THE   SERVICE   OF   METHODISM.  71 

loss  of  an  age  curious  in  the  analysis  of  cliaracter,  still  linger  in 
their  second  edition. 

Adam  Clauke,  the  hard-headed,  self-sustained,  and  resolute 
Ilebridoan,  with  the  large  heart  and  lively  genius  of  an  Irish- 
man;  the  conscientious  and  pains-taking  student;  the  various 
scholar ;  tlie  preacher,  careful,  plain  when  most  i)rofound,  and 
always  evangelical,  pointed,  and  earnest;  the  diligent  pastor; 
the  good  son,  loving  husV)and,  fond  father,  and  faithful  friend; 
above  all — with  some  eccentricities  of  character  and  conduct, 
and  not  without  some  grave  errors  of  opinion — a  godly,  old- 
fashioned,  genial,  and  thoroughly  lovable  Methodist  jireacher — 
this  great  colossal  figure,  whose  bold  outline  and  fine  propor- 
tions ran  never  be  hid  by  the  crowds  of  little  men  who  from 
time  to  time  have  swarmed  its  sides  and  stood  upon  its  shoulders 
to  be  stared  at.  Dr.  Etheridge  has  recently  placed  on  a  fitting 
I>edestal,  and  fixed  in  its  true  position,  conspicuous  in  the  gal- 
lery of  connectional  heroes. 

But  upon  my  fatlier,  as  upon  most  other  Methodists  of  that 
day,  no  preacher,  as  such,  except  Benson,  created  an  impression 
stronger  than  that  produced  by  Samuel  Bkadbirx.  lie  was 
a  child  ten  years  old  when  first  he  heard  him  jireach.  After- 
ward, when  himself  on  probation  for  the  ministry  in  the  Old- 
liam  Circuit,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  Avalking  into  Manchester 
and  back  again,  some  fourteen  miles,  and  that  on  the  Saturday 
evening,  for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  Bradburn's  week-night 
sermons.  The  })iography  of  this  extraordinary  man,  attempted 
by  a  daughter,  immediately  after  his  decease,  under  circum- 
stances of  great  discouragement,  has  yet  to  be  written.  I  can 
but  hastily  sketch  its  more  striking  features. 

The  son  of  a  common  soldier,  and  bom  at  Gibraltar  in  1751, 
his  mother,  when  he  was  an  infant,  took  him  away  from  school 
because  she  found  it  inconvenient,  or  thought  it  needless  to 
spend  three  halfpence  a  week  on  his  education.  His  father, 
when  serving  in  Germany,  had  become  acquainted  with  the 
Methodists  who  fought  in  the  battle  of  Dettingcn,  and  whose 
lives  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  Christianity 
in  the  army.  The  result  was,  that,  though  he  did  not  formally 
join  them,  he  began  to  lead  a  new  life,  and  trained  his  thirteen 
children  in  the  fear  of  God.  He  settled  at  Chester ;  and  his 
son  Samuel,  apprenticed  to  a  cobbler,  became  also  "  an  absolute 
slave  to  tiie  devil  and  sin." 


72  THK   LIFE  OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

One  evoniiip,  however, "  in  the  close  of  the  year  1 V69,"  wliile 
tlio  youth  "  was  niakiiifj  a  few  cursor)'  remarks  on  the  season, 
antl  looking  at  some  tleeayeil  flowers  in  a  garden  adjoining  the 
house"  he  worked  in,  he  was  suddenly  eonviiice(l  of  the  evil 
of  his  doings.  He  sneaked  haek  to  the  Mi-lhodist  ehaj»el ; 
"fju'^ted  to  an  extreme;"  "roamed  about  the  fiehls  till  the  wind 
and  rain  almost  caused  the  skin  to  peel  oflfhis  cheeks;"  "often 
put  his  feet  in  cold  water,  and  sat  on  the  side  of  a  ditch  till  the 
pain  nearly  took  away  his  senses;  and  read  religious  books, 
but  daily  grew  more  wretched."  f^o,  when  he  had  tried  every 
other  way,  he  was  shut  up  to  the  true  one.  "I  exclaimed, 
'  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Thou  didst  die  for  sinners ;  if  there  be  yet 
mercy  for  me,  oh  !  reveal  Thy  love  in  my  ])oor  tormented  heart.' 
This  I  said  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul."  He  found  jH-aee  with 
God,  and  joined  the  society.  After  many  temptations  and  ex- 
periences, such  a.s  commonly  befall  men  of  sanguine  tempera- 
ment, his  ))iety  acquire«l  some  solidity,  and  he  began  to  preach. 
M:uiv,  and  none  more  than  himself,  doubted  his  call;  and  he 
determined  to  e<»ns\ilt  Fletcher,  at  MadiKy,  who  told  him  to 
"go  forward  in  the  name  of  the  lv<ird,"  and  to  "  be  lunnble  and 
diligent ;"  adding,  "  If  you  should  live  to  preach  the  Gospel 
forty  years,  and  be  the  instrument  of  saving  only  one  soul,  it 
will  be  w<»rth  all  your  labor."  In  17M  he  became  a  regular 
itini-rant. 

At  this  period  <tf  hi>  life  connnence  the  extracts  from  his 
Journal  whicli  have  been  disclosed  to  the  public  eye;  a  most 
suggestive  record  of  the  sj)iritual  man,  conflicting  constantly 
witii  strong  natural  passions,  with  adverse  fortimes,  and  often 
with  the  <lnrk  demon  of  insanity  itself  IJut,  wherever  else  he 
f:ule«l  or  faltered,  he  never  trod  tin*  pulpit-floor  but  with  the 
aMKured  air  of  an  habittial  con<|ueror.  He  had  a  i)leasant  and 
eonnn.'inding  person,  an  easy  carriage,  a  voice  excpusiti-ly  mu- 
sical, a  ehar  and  coiiijireheiisive  intelle<t,  a  ready  and  reti-ntive 
nu'mory,  and  a  <piick  inventi<»n;  while  his  style  was  jiure  ruid 
elegant,  and  the  tone  and  manmr  of  his  jireaching,  as  a  rule, 
very  wann  and  afTectionale.  IJut  he  had  also  that  which  none 
of  these  alone,  nor  the  whole  combined,  could  funiish — the 
sympathies  and  powers  of  a  great  natural  orator.  He  supplied 
to  a  considerable  extent  tin;  cleficieiicies  of  his  early  education, 
and  what  rcmaiueil  were  covere<l  by  the  mantle  of  his  genius. 


TRAINIXa  FOR  THE  SERVICE  OF  METHODISM.  73 

The  secret  of  liis  great  popularity,  Ijoth  witliin  and  beyond  the 
borders  of  liis  own  church,  is  I'ully  cxjilnincd,  if  to  these,  its  le- 
gitimate elements,  be  added  a  certain  strange  and  savage  hu- 
mor, w-hich  seasoned  his  discourses  to  the  taste  of  the  vulgar, 
r:ither  than  commended  them  to  the  admiration  of  the  intel- 
ligent and  pious.  Yet  great  injustice  would  be  done  to  his 
reinitation  were  the  idea  conveyed  that,  in  his  best  days,  his 
sermons  were  flavored  very  strongly  with  the  cheap  and  coarse 
condiments  commonly  retailed  by  the  demagogue  and  the  buf- 
foon. There  is  a  species  of  sarcasm,  the  use  of  which,  even  iu 
the  most  sacred  places  and  connections,  is  justitied  by  the  pos- 
session of  the  faculty  to  employ  it,  and  by  exact  Scripture  prec- 
edents ;*  and,  when  Bradburn  was  most  himself,  he  handled  with 
dignity  and  effect  that  fomiidable  -weapon.  He  must  be  taken 
as  a  wliole,  and  as  we  are  accustomed  to  take  far  inferior  men 
in  our  own  day.  His  career  was  brilliant  and  useful ;  and  per- 
haps more  men  longed,  but  durst  not  try,  to  preach  Uke  him, 
than  like  any  other  preacher  of  his  time. 

His  generosity,  vivacity,  and  stem  sincerity  of  character  at- 
tracted the  universal  love  of  his  brethren ;  and,  after  having 
served  the  office  of  secretary,  he  Avas  elected  jiresident  of  the 
Conference  in  1790.  Three  years  al\erward — the  solitary  in- 
stance in  our  annals  of  an  ex-president  being  so  humbled — he 
stood  a  culj)rit  at  its  bar — ("  wine"  "  biteth  like  a  sei-pent") — 
and  received  its  solemn  censure ;  and  it  was  ordered  that  his 

*  If  any  doubt  this,  let  him  read  the  puh]i«hcd  sennons  of  the  late  Dr. 
Ivichard  Winter  Ilaniilton  ;  volumes  which,  for  the  credit  of  the  Congrcga- 
tionalists,  oupht  to  be  republished  in  a  chc.ip  and  jiopuiar  form.  The  style, 
indeed,  is  as  unnatural  as  his  great  genius  could  invent ;  but,  like  all  his 
other  \>Titings,  they  arc  rich  in  a  sound,  philoso]ihical,  and  thoroughly  evan- 
gelical theology,  and  sparkle  with  eloquence  and  beauty.  Nor  can  I  omit 
a  passing  reference  to  the  rare  accom])lishmeuts  and  kindly  charities  of  a 
man  often  misunderstood  and  always  underrated,  but  whose  serene  good- 
nature, pellucid  frankness,  noble  independence,  and  unrivaled  conversrflion- 
al  powers  made  him  the  delight  of  those  who  enjoyed  his  friendship.  One 
specimen  of  his  many  clever  sayings  will  suffice  ;  and  I  give  it,  notwithstand- 
ing I  h.avc  no  sympathy  with  the  opinions  which  dictated  it.  "  I  have 
heard,"  he  said,  "of  a  young  curate  who  was  so  fond  of  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles  that  he  wished  there  were  forty.  For  my  l>art,  they  alw.iys  remind 
me  of  the  'forty  stripes  save  one.'"  Some  bejiutiful  sonnets,  written  by 
Dr.  Hamilton,  and  dated  at  Leeds,  appeared  some  years  ago  in  Blackwood's 
Magazine,  and  were  attributed  bv  "Wilson  to  Mich.tcl  Thomas  Sadler. 

Vol.  I.— D 


74  THE   LIKi:   OF  JAIJKZ   KUNTINT!. 

name  slKMild  not  apponvoii  the  ininutos  of  the  year.  Few  8ur- 
vivc  wlio  wituesseil  llie  scene — the  heart-ccriet'  t»t' those  who  sat 
in  jiultrnient  on  a  l\Uher  "  overtaken  in  a  Ihult,"  and  the  deep, 
intjenuous  jiciiilcnce  ot"  the  oflender,  as  he  bk-ssed  (lod  tor  llie 
disfijdine  Avliiih  hail  puiiislied  liis  dtVeuse,  and  even  thanked  tlic 
men  upon  whom  the  duty  of  detecting  and  of  reporting  it  had 
fallen.  After  the  interval  of  a  year  he  was  restored  to  liis  jtrojv 
cr  standing.  But,  though  he  continued  to  travel  for  eight  or 
ten  years  more,  and  never  lost  his  inHuence  in  the  pul]»it,  his 
Journal  tells  of  a  broken  spirit,  of  i)ecuniary  straits,  and  vi'  many 
l)odily  infirmities.  Yet  there  runs  through  the  whole  of  it  a 
strain  of  genuine,  if  imperfect  jtiety.  His  mind  decayed  before 
his  body  died ;  but  the  last  truths  he  understood  were  those 
Avhich  he  had  so  jiowcrfully  i)reached,  and  his  end  was  peace. 

Ills  name  stands  godtather  to  many  queer  sayings  and  doings 
for  which  it  is  not  resjxMisible ;  but  the  man  still  survives  iu 
some  stories  unquestionably  true.  iSuch  was  one  related  by  my 
father.  During  the  session  of  the  Conference  of  1791,  four 
months  after  Wesley's  death,  I>radburn  preached  before  that 
venerable  body.  He  referred  pathetically  to  their  recent  loss, 
to  the  danger  of  fatal  disunion,  and  to  the  necessity  of  a  com- 
mon and  hearty  adherence  to  the  faith  and  discipline  of  Meth- 
odism. Gradu.iUy  he  kindled  into  the  highest  oratory;  and, 
anxious  to  make  the  best  of  the  ertect  he  felt  he  had  ]»roduced, 
raised  his  voice,  and  appealed  to  those  «if  liie  preachers  jirescut 
who  intended  to  stand  by  the  ''old  plan"  to  rise  and  testify  it. 
Every  ])reacher  in  the  chapel  sprang  at  once  upon  his  feet. 
There  was  a  solemn  silence,  broken  shortly  by  a  cry  from  the 
gallery,  "  Ili're's  a  woman  in  distress."  "■  Hold  your  tongiu', 
you  fool !"  screamed  l>radl)urn,  indignant  tlial  attention  siionld 
l>e  thus  diverted  from  his  real  object.  None  dared  to  smile; 
but  all  knew  that  the  benefit  of  the  sermon  was  irreparably  lost, 
mor«  by  his  own  than  by  any  other  internqttion  of  the  current 
f>f  thought  and  feeling. 

On  an«»ther  occa.sion  Uradbinti  n-qmsled  my  lallier,  tlieii  in 
his  first  circuit,  to  attend  at  the  minister's  house  in  Dale  Street, 
Manchester,  at  a  specified  hour.  His  summons  was  ol)eye<l. 
i'.radburn  was  sitting  in  conqiany  with  two  agi-d  women,  juid 
all  wen-  evi<lently  waiting  lor  the  young  preacher's  arrival. 
"  Now.  ladies,"  sai«l  he,  "  1  knew  you  had  a  great  deal  to  say 


TKAININCI   FOK  THE  SERVICE  OF  METHODISM.  7o 

about  eat'h  other,  and  tliat  the  opportunity  would  he  very  edi- 
tyiiii;:, so  I  have  sent  for  Mr.  Bunling,  iVuni  Oldham,  to  enjoy  it: 
pray  proceed."  First  one  sister,  and  then  the  other,  emptied 
her  well-stored  budget  of  scandal  and  abuse,  their  ]>astor  main- 
taining a  stately  gravity,  and  interfering  only  when  both  strove 
to  talk  at  once.  They  soon  saw  how  ridiculous  the  scene  Avas 
becoming,  and  rose  to  retire.  Bradburn  thanked  them  for  the 
profit  atf»)rdcd  to  liiraself  and  to  his  friend,  and  bowed  them  to 
the  door,  chuckling,  on  his  return  into  the  room,  on  the  success 
of  iiis  endeavor  to  stay  an  evil  not  imconmion  among  professors 
of  religion.* 

Alexandku  Matiiek,  or  as,  when  young,  he  Avrotc  his  name, 
M'Mather,  though  worthily  commemorated  by  ]\Ir.  Jackson,  can 
not  be  passed  by  with  a  simple  reference  in  the  Biography  of 
Jabez  Bunting.  Born  at  Brechin  in  1733,  he  Avas  carefully 
trained  by  his  parents  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  shared  in  the  ed- 
ucational advantages  which  the  i)iety  and  wisdom  of  John  Knox 
insured  as  the  birthright  of  every  Scotchman.  So  well  had  ho 
been  taught,  that,  when  he  grew  up,  lie  "  was  an  utter  stranger 
to  the  vices  connuon  among  men,"  As  was  Avont,  he  learned 
the  Assend)ly's  Catechisms  by  heart ;  and  when  he  "  was  at  the 
Latin  school,  the  master,  every  Lord's  day,  after  the  service, 
used  to  hear  Avhat  could  be  remembered  of  the  sermons,  and 
to  ju-ay  Avith  his  scholars."  "  Under  one  of  his  prayers,"  says 
Mather  himself,  "  when  I  Avas  about  ten  years  old,  I  Avas  struck 
Avith  strong  convictions,  and  these  never  quite  left  me,  and  I 
always  retained  a  desire  to  be  a  Christian."  In  the  year  '45, 
"  out  of  a  childish  frolic,"  he  jomcd  a  party  of  the  rebels ;  was 
present,  as  I  infer  from  his  narrative,  at  the  Battle  of  Culloden; 
and,  after  the  defeat,  made  his  Avay  back  again  as  fast  as  he 
could.  His  mother,  Avho  had  gone  in  search  of  him,  met  him 
on  the  road ;  but  his  fother  refused  to  let  liim  come  into  the 

*  I  had  received  an  impression  that,  at  times,  when  my  father  waxed 
boldly  oratorical,  his  eloquence,  in  some  of  its  qualifies,  resembled  thiit  at- 
tributed by  tradition  to  Bradburn.  The  Rev.  Isaac  Keeling  has  favored  mc 
with  a  letter,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  directed  to  this  subject.  The  limit.s 
necessarily  assigned  to  this  chapter  forbid  its  insertion  here  in  full,  and  to 
abridge  a  ])aper  so  rejiletc  with  interesting  detail  and  practical  wisdom  is  out 
of  the  question.  I  therefore  place  it  in  the  Appendix  (Appendix  F),  where 
its  own  merits,  not  less  than  the  reputation  of  its  sagacious  VTiter,  will  -f- 
<  ure  for  it  an  attentive  ]>eruia!. 


<0  TIIK    LIFE   OF  JAUEZ   IILNTINCJ. 

house,  and  own  intuiineil  ajfaiusl  liiin.*  Manlictl  between  a 
lile  v{  musketeers,  he  was  taken  hetore  the  eoinniantling  ollieer, 
who,  after  askiui^  him  many  questions,  ordered  him  to  go  home. 
Thither  he  went ;  but,  instead  of  beinjx  sent  again  to  school,  the 
father  employed  him  in  his  own  business  of  a  baker.  When 
eiL,diteen  years  old  he  went  to  IVrth.  An  aecjtuiintanee  asked 
him  to  ijo  with  her  to  the  "  Eitisc()|»:il  meeting."  ''It  alVeeted 
me  nuK-h,  and  from  that  time  1  attended  it  whenever  I  could; 
and  I  can  not  but  say  it  was  of  great  nsc  to  my  soul,  and  ha.s 
j)roved  so  ever  since."  Probably  the  going  to  the  E)»iscoiial 
meeting  at  I'erth  was  the  result  of  the  exju'dition  to  Culloden, 
and  both  gave  a  bias  to  blather's  subsequent  opinions  as  a  lead- 
er among  the  Methodists.  In  1 752  he  -went  to  London,  and  oo- 
eui>ied  himself  in  his  trade;  but,  as  he  was  a  "foreigner,"  his 
master  was  summoned  to  (iuildhall,  and  obliged  to  put  him 
away.  lie  soon  found  other  emjiloyment.  In  ITo.'l,  a  fellow- 
townswoman,  resident  in  London,  and  whom  he  had  known  as 
a  child,  sought  liim  out,  and  they  were  soon  married.  They 
seem  to  have  lived  a  very  steady  life,  and  she  enjoyed  the  com- 
forts of  religion.  The  same  year  he  entered  the  service  of  Mr. 
Marriott,  a  zealous  Methodist.  Here  he  i'ound  what  he  "had 
long  desired,  a  family  wherein  was  the  worship  of  (lod."  "This 
stirred  me  to  be  more  earnest  in  seeking  Him."  "  I  have  some- 
times gone  to  my  knees  when  I  was  going  to  l»id,  and  have  con- 
tinued in  that  position  till  two  o'clock,  when  I  was  calletl  to 
work.  Hilt  I  could  liiid  no  ])eace,  nor  could  I  till  what  hinder- 
ed, unless  it  were  the  baking  of  pans,  a><  they  called  it,  on  ►Sun- 
days." He  woidd  gladly  have  refrained  from  this ;  but  then  ho 
mu'^t  have  lel\  his  place.  This  he  resolved  to  do  "  as  soon  as 
Christmas  w.as  over."  I^Ieantime  he  h:id  no  rest;  and  though 
lie  went  to  the  "Holy  Coniiiiunion,"  and  "found  some  conj- 
fort,"  the  sense  of  his  guilt  in  profaning  the  Sabbath  soon  took 
it  away.  On  the  Monday  morning  he  gave  his  master  warning. 
Tlie  old  Methodist  "<lid  not  then  speak  one  word,  but  soon  aft- 
er came  int<»  the  shop  and  talke<l  the  matter  over."  The  same 
d.iy  he  went  "to  all  of  the  trade  in  Shoreditth  an<l  Hishf»psg:ite 
Without."  All  but  two  agreed  at  once  to  give  up  the  Sunday 
baking.     He  then  called  a  meeting  of  master-]>.akers,  but  noth- 

•  In  rftum   fnr  whi«li  tinnnliirul  iK'Imvior,  the  wm,  wlicn  n  Methodist 
prcochcr,  firuvided  for  llio  cooifort  of  tlic  fullicrV  liust  yenis. 


TUATXINfl    FOR  THE   SERVICE   OF   METUODISM,  77 

iug  could  be  coufluJed.  Al'terward  he  asked  the  advice  of 
"  our  brethren  at  the  Foiindery,"  then  the  one  Methodist  chapel 
in  London.  "After  he  liad  taken  all  these  steps,"  proceeds 
^latlier,  "more  than  I  could  reasonably  expect,  he  told  nic, '  I 
have  done  all  I  cau,  and  now  I  hoi)e  you  will  })e  content.'" 
Mather  thanked  his  master,  and  told  him  he  could  not  stay  m 
his  service.  "  But  I  continued  in  prayer ;  and  on  Sunday  even- 
ing, after  family  worship,  lie  stopped  mc  and  said, '  I  have  done 
to-day  what  will  i)lease  you.  I  have  staid  at  home,  and  told  all 
my  customers  I  will  no  more  bake  on  a  Sunday.'  I  told  him, 
'  II'  you  have  done  this  out  of  conscience  toward  God,  be  ai>sured 
it  will  end  well.' "  And  so  it  did.  Marriott  became  wealtiiy  ; 
lived  to  attend  the  ministry  of  his  apprentice,  changed  into  his 
Ruperhitendcnt,  and  for  a  long  scries  of  years  dispensed  ex- 
tensive charities.  Ilis  son  was  one  of  Wesley's  executors  ;  and 
liis  grandson,  Thomas  Marriott,  who  died  childless,  and  appoint- 
ed my  father  one  of  his  executors,  bequeathed  many  thousands 
of  pounds  to  Methodist  objects.  Mather  was  taken  by  his 
master  to  the  Foundery,  at  which  his  wife,  when  she  heard  of 
it,  was  very  angry.  Xevertheless,  she  went  M'ith  him,  though 
much  afraid  of  his  being  drawn  into  some  ^vrong  way.  "  John 
Nelson  preached  an  alarnnng  discourse,  which  I  hoped  would 
affect  her  much  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  she  was  much  disgusted, 
saying, '  He  has  shown  me  the  Avay  to  hell,  and  not  the  way  to 
get  but  of  it.'  But  I  thank  God  He  has  shown  me  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  way."  Then  they  went  to  a  class-meeting ;  but 
his  careful  heljimeet  never  helped  him  in  a  hurry.  "  I  was  much 
pleased  and  refreshed  ;  but  she  said,  'Tiiey  had  all  agreed  what 
to  say,  in  order  to  catch  us.' "  Then  Wesley  came  to  town,  and 
JNIather  heard  him  preach.  "  It  was  the  first  time  I  ever  heard 
or  saw  you.  Under  that  sermon  God  set  my  heart  at  liberty." 
Husband  and  wife  soon  joined  tlie  society. 

It  was  not  long  before  Mather  thouglit  that  God  had  called 
him  to  preach ;  and,  after  he  and  his  religious  companions  ha<l 
set  apart  some  days  for  fasting  and  i>rayer,  ho  mentioned  the 
subject  to  Wesley,  who  quietly  told  him,  "This  is  a  conunon 
tem])tation  to  young  men.  Several  have  mentioned  it  to  me ; 
but  the  next  thing  I  hear  of  them  is  that  they  are  married,  or 
upon  the  point  of  it."  "  Sir,  I  am  married  already."  "  Care 
not  for  it,  but  seek  God  by  fasting  and  prayer."    "  This  I  have 


78  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   13UNTING. 

done."  AVhcvouixtn  AVcsley  strongly  "  recommcnclcd  patience 
and  perseverance  therein." 

Wesley  soon  sent  him  to  preach,  and  very  diligently  did  he 
toil.  "  After  hasting  to  iinish  my  bnsiness  abroad,  I  have  eome 
home  in  the  evening,  changed  my  clothes,  and  run  to  preach  at 
one  or  another  chapel ;  then  walked  or  run  back,  changed  my 
clothes,  and  gone  to  -work  at  ten ;  wrought  hard  all  night,  and 
I)reached  at  live  next  morning.  I  ran  back  to  draw  the  bread 
at  a  quarter  or  half  an  hour  past  six,  wrought  hard  in  the  bake- 
house till  eight,  then  hurried  about  with  the  bread  till  the  aft- 
ernoon, and  perhaps  set  oft'  at  night  again." 

Wesley  fixed  his  eyes  upon  this  perfervid  Scotchman,  and  in 
1756  proposed  that  he  should  go  with  him  to  Ireland  as  a  trav- 
eling preacher.  Mather  was  quite  willing,  if  the  stewards  would 
provide  his  wife  with  four  shillings  a  week  during  his  absence ; 
but  the  funds  of  the  society  would  not  allow  them  to  make  the 
pledge.  So  he  remained  at  his  business  for  another  year,  when, 
his  wife's  maintenance  being  secured,  he  commenced  his  itiner- 
ancy by  walking  a  himdred  and  fifty  miles  to  Epworth,  in  Lin- 
colnshire. 

He  rose  to  immediate  distinction  in  the  comicction,  and  for 
forty-three  years  endured  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ,  watched  in  all  things,  did  the  work  of  an  evangelist, 
made  full  proof  of  his  ministry.  Wesley  ordained  him,  and 
chose  him  to  advise  and  assist  him  in  the  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  connection,  so  that  he  was  known  fur  a  consider- 
able period  as  "Wesley's  right-hand  man."  Benson  portrays 
him  as  a  preacher:  "He  had  very  clear  and  just  views  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  in  all  its  branches ;  and  his  })reaching  was 
peculiarly  instructive,  and  very  forcil)le  and  impressive.  lie 
Avas  never  at  a  loss  fur  abundance  and  variety  of  edil'ying  mat- 
ter ;  and,  had  he  had  the  aid  of  a  classical  education,  his  dis- 
courses, through  abetter  arrangement,  would  have  ap])eared  to 
much  more  advantage.  His  api)rehension  was  peculiarly  (juick, 
his  genius  fertile,  an<l  his  mcniury  tenacious.  J>eing  naturally 
a  man  of  strong  passions,  and  divine  grace  having  softened  and 
humbled  his  heart,  he  generally  felt  himself  the  truths  he  deliv- 
ered to  others,  and,  in  consequence  thereof,  his  hearers  felt  thein 
too."  And  Pawson  describes  his  wisdom,  fidelity,  aiul  tender- 
ness a.s  a  pastor  of  the  flock  in  words  whicli,  with  the  note  ap- 


TRAINING   FOR  THE  SERVICE   OF   METHODISM.  70 

pended  to  them  in  Jackson's  "  Lives,"*  may  be  read  with  mucli 
advantaG^c.  "  That  he  was  highly  acceptable  wherever  he  Avas 
stationed,  all,  I  believe,  will  acknowledge ;  and  as  none  could 
exceed  him  in  diligence,  so  he  was,  in  general,  very  useful.  The 
Lord  attended  his  labors  with  an  abundant  blessing.  It  may 
easily  be  learned  in  what  circuits  he  was  stationed  from  the 
time  he  breaks  off  his  narrative  till  he  finished  his  work  upon 
earth,  by  those  who  Avill  take  the  trouble  to  look  mto  the  min- 
utes of  our  several  Conferences.  And  therefore,  as  I  am  not 
able  to  say  what  particular  success  attended  his  labors  in  those 
circuits,  I  shall  waive  relating  that  here.  However,  as  from  the 
year  1791  to  1794  he  was  stationed  at  Hull,  and  the  three  fol- 
lowing years  at  Manchester,  and  in  the  year  1797  at  Leeds,  I 
beg  leave  to  observe  that  in  all  those  places  there  was  a  con- 
siderable revival  of  the  Avork  of  God.  Many  persons  in  those 
cu'cuits  were  awakened,  and  brought  to  the  saving  knowledge 
of  God  in  a  short  time.  This  work  was  attended  with  some  ir- 
regularities, and  much  noise  and  confusion.  On  such  occasions, 
indeed,  there  are  never  wantmg  headstrong  and  imprudent  per- 
sons, who  have  far  more  zeal  than  discretion.  These  would 
take  the  work  out  of  the  hands  of  God  into  then-  oavti,  and  drive 
the  people  forward  much  faster  than  they  can  go,  and  persuade 
them  to  profess  faith  before  their  judgment  is  rightly  uiformed 
concerning  the  nature  of  faith,  or  their  conscience  awakened  to 
a  sense  of  sin,  and,  by  so  doing,  ruin  the  work  of  God.  These 
hot-headed  persons  generally  look  upon  all  to  be  gold  which 
gUtters,  and  account  all  to  be  enemies  to  the  work  of  God  who 
are  not  a.s  rash  and  as  ignorant  as  themselves.  Hence  it  requires 
no  small  degree  of  prudence,  as  Avell  as  courage,  to  withstand 
them,  and  to  preserve  others  from  runnu^  into  their  error.  Mr. 
Mather,  having  had  large  experience  in  the  diiFerent  ways  in 
which  the  Lord  generally  carries  on  His  Avork,  acted  Avith  Avon- 
derful  prudence ;  and,  as  he  was  a  man  that  Avould  use  his  aii- 
thority  AAdien  occasion  reqiiired,  he  resolutely  insisted  upon 
proper  order  being  kept  in  those  prayer-meetings,  Avhich  Avere 
Avell  attended,  and  in  Avliich  much  good  Avas  done.  By  this 
means  he  preserved  the  work  from  that  reproach  and  contempt 
AA'hich,  in  some  other  places,  Avere  brought  upon  it,  Avhere  de- 
cormn  and  regularity  were  not  maintainec'.  In  the  mean  time, 
*  Vol.  i.,  p.  422-424. 


80  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

he  took  great  care  of,  and  tvoatod  Avith  remarkable  tenderness, 
those  -svho  professed  faith  iu  Christ,  and  who  were  so  suddenly 
and  powerfully  brought  out  of  darkness  into  light.  He  well 
knew  that  these  new-born  souls  required  much  nursing;  that, 
however  lively  or  happy  they  might  appear  to  be  for  the  pres- 
ent, yet  they  were  in  general  exceedingly  ignorant  and  quite 
imestablished ;  and,  therefore,  he  not  only  took  abundance  of 
l)ains  with  them  himself,  but  he  also  was  careful  to  appoint  them 
to  meet  with  those  leaders  mIio,  he  knew,  would  carefully  and 
tenderly  mstruct  them.  Accordingly,  many  of  this  descrij)tion 
were  preserved,  and  continue  steady  at  this  day,  who,  hi  all 
probabiUty,  if  those  means  had  not  been  used,  would  have  soon 
turned  back  mto  the  world  again." 

Benson  describes  a  visit  to  him  on  his  death-bed  in  the  year 
1 800.  "  lie  then  expressed  himself  in  the  most  clear,  perthient, 
and  feeling  manner  conceniing  our  redem])tion  by  Christ,  and 
of  his  whole  dependence  being  on  this  alone."  "  iVfter  this  he 
spoke  concerning  the  Methodist  connection  in  a  way  which 
showed  how  nuich  his  soul  was  wrapped  up  in  the  prosperity 
of  it,  and  gave  us  many  cautions  and  advices,  urging  us  especial- 
ly to  attend  at  the  Conference  to  the  state  of  the  poor  i)reach- 
ers,  many  of  whom,  he  said,  he  knew  to  be  in  great  want  and 
distress."  One  of  the  last  of  his  "  heavenly  breathings"  was 
this :  "  O  Jesus,  whom  I  have  loved,  whom  I  do  love,  in  whom 
I  delight,  I  surrender  myself  unto  Thee." 

Of  WiLLiA3i  Thompson,  the  first  president  of  the  Conference 
after  the  death  of  Wesley,  fewer  traces  arc  to  be  fovmd  than  of 
any  of  his  eminent  contcmi)oraries.  For  forty  years  an  itiner- 
ant preacher,  he  gained  a  constantly  increasing  influence  in  the 
connection,  and  especially  over  his  brethren  in  the  muiistry. 
He  was  born  in  the  North  of  Ireland  iu  1V33 ;  brought  up,  I 
believe,  a  Presbyterian  ;  and,  during  the  earlier  part  of  his  pub- 
lic career,  was  frequently  resident  in  Scotland.  Like  other 
young  Methodist  ])reaehers  who  enjoyed  that  advantage,  he 
acquired,  l>y  a  close  observation  of  the  position,  attainments, 
and  habits  of  the  national  clergy,  both  princii)les  and  feelings, 
which  elevated  the  tone  of  his  nihid  and  added  to  his  means  of 
usefulness.  From  his  training  when  a  boy,  or  from  the  expe- 
rience of  his  after-life,  he  received  im])ressions  hi  favor  of  the 
I*resbyterian  poUty  which  were  not  forgotten  by  him  in  the 
settlement  of  the  constitution  of  Methodism.     In  the  discus- 


TRAINING  FOR  THE   SERVICE   OF   METHODISM.  81 

sions  of  the  Conference  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  clear  and 
ready  speaker,  and  his  counsels  were  well-timed,  wise,  and 
moderate.  He  died  at  Birmingham  in  1799.  My  father  used 
to  speak  of  the  old  man's  gravity  of  speech,  spirit,  and  de- 
meanor, and  of  the  advantages  he  himself  had  derived  from  his 
example  and  ministry. 

Thomas  Rutherfokd,  born  in  Northumberland  in  1752, 
whose  father  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  also  brought  up 
after  the  godly  fashion  of  pious  Presbyterians ;  got  by  heart, 
when  a  child,  Willison's  Prayers  for  Children  ;  was  wonderful- 
ly impressed  at  a  sacrament ;  and  longed,  above  all  tilings,  to 
be  a  mmister.  He  too  learned,  when  resident  in  the  land  of 
the  Covenant  and  of  the  parish  school,  how  to  read  and  to 
think ;  and,  on  the  testimony  of  his  friend  and  brother-in-law, 
Henry  Moore,  his  abiUties  were  very  considerable,  and  his  man- 
ner of  preaching  peculiarly  energetic  and  aftecting. 

John  Baebee,  another  fruit  of  Derbyshire  Methodism,  was 
a  wild,  untaught,  untoward  youth,  but  gave  early  tokens  of 
noble  frankness,  manly  independence,  and  fearless  decision  of 
character.  Mr.  Greaves,  a  Methodist,  went  to  Hope  Fair  for  the 
purpose  of  liiring  a  man-servant.  Few  were  present  that  day ; 
and,  after  waiting  long,  he  hired  John  Barber,  as  the  best  man 
he  could  find.  He  had  scarcely  engaged  him,  however,  when 
a  friend  told  him  that  the  lad  was  an  inveterate  swearer.  He 
went  back,  and  extorted  a  promise,  sacredly  kept,  that  his  new 
servant  would  never  SAvear  again.  Barber  Avas  converted; 
learned  to  weave,  that  he  might  have  his  time  more  at  his  own 
disposal ;  .studied  hard ;  and,  in  the  long  run,  became  an  itm- 
erant  preacher.  He  was  t\nce  elected  president  of  the  Con- 
ference, and  died  while  sustaining  that  office  in  the  year  181G. 
In  the  pulpit  he  was  plain,  forcible,  and  exceedingly  apt  in  the 
quotation  of  Scripture.  I  do  not  gather  that  liis  manners  ever 
received  a  very  high  polish ;  but  his  sense  and  sincerity  over- 
came all  defects  of  this  kind,  and  perhaps  few  men  ever  left  be- 
hind them  a  deeper  impression  of  true  and  tender  kindness  of 
heart.  When  quite  a  child,  I  was  astonished  to  see  my  father 
Aveep  over  the  letter  Avhich  announced  the  death  of  his  old 
pastor  and  friend.  He  followed  him  to  his  grave  at  Portland 
Chapel,  Bristol,  preached  his  funeral  sermon,  and  acted  as  one 
of  liis  executors. 

D2 


82  THE   LIP^E   OF  JAIJEZ   BUNTING, 

Under  the  teaching  and  iuHuence  of  men  such  as  I  have  thus 
very  imperfectly  described,  the  youth,  Jahez  Bunting,  grew 
rajjidly  in  personal  piety,  in  the  clear  apprehension  and  con- 
viction of  the  Christian  iaith,  and  in  a  firm  attachment  to  the 
doctrines  and  discipline  of  jNIethodism.  His  fiither's  house 
was  but  a  few  yards  distant  from  that  occupied,  from  time  to 
time,  by  the  superintendent  preachers  of  the  circuit ;  they  took 
kiiully  to  him,  and  foresaw  liis  future  greatness  ;  and  he  went 
in  and  out  of  their  dwelling  ahnost  at  his  pleasure.  It  was  his 
grateful  companionship  with  them  which  begat  in  him  a  rev- 
erence for  age,  never  lost.  Even  when  he  himself  had  groAvn 
into  an  old  man,  it  was  pleasant  to  see  how  he  insisted  upon  a 
projjer  deference  being  paid  to  ministers  like  Sutcliiie,  Reece, 
James  Wood,  Entwisle,  Gaulter,  Edmondson,  IMorley,  and 
Marsden — fathers  who  may  be  fairly  considered  as  liis  own 
contemporaries,  but  in  whose  forms  and  faces  he  traced  the 
Avell-remembered  images  of  the  guides  of  his  youth. 

These  notices  of  Jabez  Bunting's  early  training  would  be 
very  incomplete  if  another  class  of  circumstances  were  not  re- 
corded. He  was  twelve  years  old  ^\hen  AVeslcy  died.  Then 
burst  forth  the  storm  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  and  the 
mutterings  of  which  had  disturbed  the  peace,  though  they  had 
never  shaken  the  confidence  of  the  great  founder  of  INIethod- 
ism.  My  father  watched  it  with  growing  intelligence  mitil  it 
had  spent  its  fury.  Of  an  eager  disposition,  and  naturally  apt 
at  the  solution  of  questions  of  practical  difficulty,  he  noted  ev- 
ery jjliase  and  change  of  the  controversies  of  that  period  as 
they  rose;  he  acquired  a  thorough  insight  into  their  nature 
and  meaniug;  lie  became  familiar  with  their  essential  ])rinci- 
ples ;  and  he  laid  up  a  store  of  facts,  precedents,  and  opinions 
which  were  of  "great  and  lasting  service  to  lum  during  the 
whole  of  liis  subsequent  course.* 

*  Yfft  lie  did  not  always  tisc  the  materials  he  possessed.  A  notable  ex- 
amjilc  of  this,  perhaps  arising  from  a  failure  of  memory,  very  unusual  with 
him,  occun-cd  in  reference  to  the  dispute  as  to  the  visitatorial  powers  exer- 
cised in  cases  of  cmerKeney  by  ministers  specially  assemliled  in  District 
Committee.  From  1827,  wlicn  such  a  visitation  was  held  in  Leeds,  down 
to  the  time  of  my  father's  rctiromcnt  from  public  life,  no  subject  excited  so 
much  conncctional  strife  and  a^^'itation.  It  was  deemed  very  important  on 
nil  sides  to  ascertain  bow  the  ]tromoters  of  the  settlement  of  1  T,)~)  themselves 
understood  and  administered  the  system  as  thereby  regulated.     My  father 


TRAINING  FOR  THE   SERVICE   OF   METHODISM.  83 

Benson,  Mather,  and  Thompson,  the  three  master  spirits  of 
the  time — I  am  speaking  of  their  influence  uj^on  the  ecclesi- 
astical politics  of  the  connection — were  successively  superin- 
tendents of  the  Manchester  Circuit  during  the  period  com- 
mencing Avitli  the  year  1791,  and  ending  with  the  year  1799. 
Tlie  great  preacher,  indeed,  almost  becamd  a  martyr  for  tlie 
firm  but  heaUug  counsels  whicli  he,  with  his  two  brethren,  con- 
sistently advocated  during  the  continuance  of  tlie  earlier  dis- 
sensions, A  tribunal  to  which  no  courtesy  can  attribute  either 
legitimacy  or  wisdom,  even  though  Coke,  Bradburn,  and  Moore 
sat  upon  it,  pronounced  that  he  had  separated  himself  from  the 
Methodist  connection.  Mather,  too,  was  abundantly  abused; 
nor  did  Thomj^son  escape  annoyances,  Avhich  must  have  deep- 
ly gi'ieved  his  gentle  spirit.  And  Manchester  was  a  great  seat 
and  centre  of  strife.  I  can  not  doubt  that  these  circumstances 
fixed  the  young  man's  eye  with  earnest  intensity  upon  the 
events  to  which  I  am  now  adverting.  His  sense  of  justice,  his 
devotion  to  his  own  spiritual  guides,  and  his  natural  cleai*ness 
of  perception,  and  consequent  appreciation  of  the  right  and  of 
the  wrong  on  either  side,  would  all  stmiulate,  and  from  time 
to  tune  increase,  the  interest  he  took  in  jiublic  afliliirs. 

It  was  during  Benson's  superintendency  that  the  sacrament- 
al controversy  began,  and  during  that  of  Thompson  the  con- 
test which  took  its  name  from  Alexander  Kilham  ended. 
Mather  administered  the  circuit  during  the  last  and  worst  pe- 
riod of  the  former  strife,  and  staid  long  enough  to  encounter 
the  commencement  of  the  latter. 

No  wise  man  nowadays  reads  the  copious  Uterature  which 
then  deluged  the  connection  imless  he  have  some  important 
practical  end  in  view,  and  be  gifted  with  inexhaustible  patience ; 
and  hence,  I  think,  it  has  arisen  that  the  Methodists  of  these 
times  are,  to  some  extent,  ignorant  of  the  obhgations  they  owe 
to  the  three  great  men  whose  names  I  have  thus  grouped  to- 
had  in  his  possession,  but  I  believe  he  never  quoted,  the  minutes  of  a  meet- 
ing of  a  District  Committee  held  in  Manchester  in  1796.  They  M'cre  print- 
ed for  general  circulation,  and  a  copy  of  tliem  will  be  found  in  the  Appen- 
,  dix.  (See  Appendix  G.)  Unless  Holy  Scrijjturc  have  established,  for  all 
times,  places,  and  circumstances,  a  uniform  platform  of  church  government 
(and  Methodists  do  not  profess  to  vest  their  ecclesiastical  policy  upon  anv 
jus  divimim'),  I  do  not  see  how  the  general  reasoning  of  this  document  can 
be  refuted. 


84  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

gethcr.  They  undoubtedly  settled  the  dispute  about  the  sac- 
raments, and  so  prevented  a  ruinous  catastroplie.  Benson  clave 
strongly,  in  his  individual  preferences,  to  the  original  plan  of  a 
society  within  a  Church.  Thompson,  on  the  other  hand,  saw 
clearly,  and,  I  conjecture,  did  not  regret,  that  successive  de- 
partures from  that  i)lan  had  already  forced  the  connection  ihto 
a  i)osition  of  practical  indej)endence.  Mather,  sympathizing 
with  Benson's  Avishes,  had  arrived  slowly  at  Tliompson's  con- 
clusions. Other  raeu  of  the  day,  of  great  talent  and  mfluence, 
either  caught  hastily  at  the  easy  idea  of  a  separation,  popular 
with  the  masses  of  the  people,  or  vacillated  between  opposite 
principles.  But  the  three,  after  years  of  contest,  and  after  con- 
sulting all  mterests  and  opinions,  reconciled  contending  parties, 
and  framed  the  outlines  of  a  system  true  both  to  the  essential 
spirit  and  to  the  imperative  demands  of  Methodism.  Let  due  - 
honor  attend  the  memory  of  all  the  leading  actors  in  those  stir- 
ring events,  but  let  the  three  "  ciders"  who  "  ruled"  so  "  well 
be  counted  Avorthy  of  double"  reverence.  More  than  others, 
and  often  in  bold  resistance  to  hosts  of  powerful  opponents, 
they,  by  their  comprehension  of  the  genius  of  the  system — their 
decj)  sense  of  the  importance  of  the  trust  confided  to  them  by 
Wesley — their  pastoral  yearnings  after  the  flock  as  a  whole,* 
however  divided  in  uiterest  and  feeUng — their  foresight,  judg- 
ment, and  temper — preserved  and  even  compacted  the  great 
"  Work  of  God,"  still  "  called  Methodism." 

*  "Wliat  if  their  cflbrts  had  failed,  and  the  i)artj'  strongly  ojiposed  to 
separation  from  the  Churcli  of  Enghmd  had  been  alienated  from  the  con- 
nection !  The  list  of  the  names  of  its  ])rincii)al  leaders,  when  read  in  the 
li^ht  of  the  subsequent  history  of  the  body,  is  well  wortli  study.  Among 
tliem  arc  those  of  Matthew  Mayer,  William  Marsdcn,  Daniel  Burton,  John 
Marsden,  .Tames  Ilcald,  AVilliam  Carvosso,  LawTence  Frost,  Peter  Kaye, 
Michael  Asiiton,  John  Ilallam,  George  Urling,  John  Coliinson,  Ilen-cy 
Walklato  M<miiner,  Thomns  Thompson,  Thomas  Holy,  Henry  Longden, 
Koger  Crane,  and  William  Came.  And  if,  as  I  believe,  the  name  of  Hen- 
ry Martyn's  father  aj)pears  in  the  same  list,  what  occasion  might  we  have 
lost  of  making  our  "i)oast  in  God"  that  the  pattern  missionary  was  trained 
a  Methodist!  Thomas  Thomjjson  became  a  mcml)er  of  the  Legislature, 
and,  under  Wilberforce's  banner,  fought  many  a  hard  battlq  for  truth  and 
liberty.  His  son.  General  T.  I'erronet  Tliomjjson,  is  best  known  by  his  vig- 
orous writings,  and  sustains  the  somewlnit  rare  reputation  of  being  so  thor- 
oughly a  Lilieral  as  to  stand  steadily  cm  the  watch  against  the  political 
machinations  of  modern  I'opcry.  I  can  not  claim  him  as  belonging  to  our 
community. 


TRAINING   FOR  THE  SERVICE   OF   METHODISM.         S5 

The  "Plan  of  Pacification,"  enacted  in  1795,  launched  Meth- 
odism as  a  Church ;  but  the  ship  rode  the  Avaters,  not  for  war, 
but  for  commerce ;  and,  if  the  flag  of  the  Anglican  Establish- 
ment floated  no  longer  at  her  mast-head,  no  rival  or  unfriendly 
standard  was  hoisted  m  its  place.  But  there  arose  another 
contest,  the  necessary  result  of  the  former,  and  which  was  to 
decide  the  places  and  pretensions  of  the  crew  that  manned  the 
vessel.  The  former  controversy  "  called  a  new  Avorld  into  ex- 
istence," and  so,  in  some  measure,  "  redressed  the  balance  of 
the  old,"  while  the  other  merely  mapped  a  kingdom  mto  coun- 
ties. The  first  was  the  religious  event  of  the  age ;  the  second 
concerned  the  Church  catholic  oftly  as  it  presented  the  novel 
sjjectacle  of  a  iDolity  framed  neither  upon  any  exact  and  exclu- 
sive precedents,  nor  even  upon  any  very  carefully  defined  prm- 
ciples,  but  merely  intended  for  use.  The  difllculties,  too,  of  the 
latter  period  were  few  and  small  as  compared  with  those  which 
had  preceded  them.  The  strength  of  the  connection — its  pi- 
ety, inteUigence,  and  general  influence — was  nearly  all  on  one 
side,  and  a  short  strife  Avas  ended  by  the  secession  of  a  scanty 
minority. 

Yet  the  second  controversy  involved  questions  of  great  im- 
portance, and  was  conducted  imder  circumstances  of  consider- 
able disadvantage  to  all  parties  interested  in  the  result. 

To  aflirm  that  Wesley  left  behind  him  a  Church  without  a 
clergy  would  only  be  to  allege  an  incontrovertible  fact,  namely, 
that  in  his  just  and  prudent  anxiety  to  avoid,  at  least  during 
his  o\\-n  lifetime,  the  separation  of  his  societies  from  the  Church 
of  England,  he  had  trusted  to  some  providential  arrangement 
for  the  necessities  which  his  death  would  reveal  rather  than 
create.  He  had,  indeed,  by  his  own  ordination  of  a  few  trust- 
ed disciples,  done  something  to  meet  the  foreseen  difficulties 
of  a  state  of  transition.  But  that  fact  only  occasioned  another 
anomaly,  since  it  introduced  among  his  preachers  a  disparity 
of  rank,  Avith  a  marked  difierence  of  functions,  which,  though 
ine\dtable,  was  sure  to  peril  their  union.  "We  have  seen  that 
these  troubles  Avere  at  length  settled ;  but  they  had  been  set- 
tled by  a  compromise.  The  struggle  had  lain  betAveen  two 
parties — those  preachers  who  were  opposed  to  farther  sepai-a- 
tion,  and,  alUed  AA'ith  them,  large  bodies  of  the  trustees  of  chap- 
els on  the  one  hand,  and  preachers  of  much  talent  and  useful- 


88  Tin;  lifk  of  jabez  bunting. 

noss,  anil  :\  ccri-nt  uuinlicr  of  ilio  ]>oo]>lo,  iinpiUii-nl  lor  al)soluto 
indopcMulcncc,  on  tlu'  otlu>r.  The  loriiu'r  class  luKl  slrii'lly  to 
Wesley's  loni;  and  latest  declaration,  that  his  jireacliers  Avero 
mere  lajnncn,  incompetent  to  assmnc  the  ministerial  office; 
while  tljc  separatists  either  took  the  low  tjronnd  of  deny  in  t; 
that  the  mere  disjiensation  of  the  sacraments  implied  any  sncli 
assnmjition  —  a  notion  never  very  seriously  maintained  —  or 
stood  l)oldly  upon  the  l)road  facts  of  their  position,  and  daimeil 
the  rights  which  it  involved.  When  the  dispute  was  accom- 
modated, it  was  arranged  for  ])eace'  sake ;  and  neither  did  the 
adherents  of  the  old  ])lan  admit,  nor  did  tlie  party  whieli  en- 
joyed the  substantial  fruits  oV  victory  care  to  contend,  that  the 
preadiers  were  or  miglit  be  ministers.  That  (piestion  was  re- 
garded, if  regarded  at  all,  as  ])urely  tlieoretical,  and  it  was  hoped 
that  time  would  settle  it.  But  the  regulation  which  forbade 
the  use  of  the  term  "  reverend"  was  preserved,  as  wa.s  also  the 
somewhat  aml)iguous  declaration  that  "the  distinction  between 
ordained  and  unordained  preachers  shall  be  dropped."  The 
settlement  of  1795,  therefore,  when  that  of  1798  came  on,  by 
no  means  favored  any  very  formidable  pretensions  on  the  part 
of  the  ministers  of  the  body.  Nor  did  the  people  occupy  a 
position  better  calcidated  to  secure  their  interests.  If  the  min- 
isters were  but  newly  recognized  as  such,  the  peopli'  became, 
as  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  mem]>ers,  not  of  a  society,  but  of  a 
Churcli.  Not  one  in  a  hundred  knew  that  there  had  been  a 
Kevolution.  They  had  got  the  sacraments,  and  th.'\t  was  all 
they  w.'inteil.  And  it  would  almost  a])pi'ar  that,  when  the  lay 
otiicc-bearers — the  f>nly  class  of  the  laity  which  ti>ok  any  man- 
ifest concern  in  the  matter — argued  <juestions  afVecting  pojnilar 
j>rivileges,  they  took  it  for  granted  that  those  privileges  would 
be  safer  in  their  hands  than  in  those  of  the  people  themselves 
and  of  their  mini>^t('rs.  It  is  well  that  the  Conl'erence  Ibrinecl 
an  ojiposite  opinion. 

Under  the  ])ressurc  of  difiiculties  stjch  .as  these  a  Constitu- 
tion was  framed,  which,  f<tr  more  than  sixty  years,  h. as  attract- 
ed tlu^  steaily  and  loyal  attachment  <tf  the  Methodist  jicople. 
Our  flifrerences  during  that  |»erioil  have  ln'cn  settled,  time  nW- 
••r  time,  by  a  reference  to  the  regulations  enacted  in  179.')  and 
1707.  Those  wlio  liave  thought  that  the  sj)irit  and  essence  of 
them  have  been  presented,  have  remained  in  cfjuimunioii  with 


TRAINING   FOR  TJIK  SERVICE   OF   METUODISil,  87 

the  body;  tliose  who  liavo  thouglit  llie  contrary, have  left  it; 
and  all  have  thus  uiiilfd  in  testifying  to  the  wisdom  and  mod- 
eration (if  the  men  to  wliom  we  owe  tliem. 

I  have  referred  to  tliese  events  and  discussions  not  only  as 
accounting  for  my  father's  early  and  able  interference  in  the 
management  of  connectional  aftairs,  but  as  furnishing  some 
clew  to  the  formation  of  his  opinions  respecting  them,  lie 
studied  the  reipiirements  and  aptitudes  of  Methodism  at  a 
time  when  its  struggling  and  imperiled  condition  elicited  tlie 
deepest  solicitude  of  all  who  loved  it,  and  he  studied  under  its 
best  masters.  More  than  this :  at  that  time  nothmg  but  its 
spirit  saved  it ;  and  he  drank  dce|»ly  of  that  s])irit.  The  anx- 
ious, Iife-l(Hig  concern  of  those  who  "  naturally"  cared  for  its 
"state" — of  those  who  owed  "even  their  own  souls"  to  its 
founder,  and  who  had  undergone  every  kind  of  hardship  and 
of  suftcring  for  its  sake,  possessed  and  pervaded  every  faculty 
of  his  soul.  He  knew,  better  than  most,  the  true  place  and 
right  value  of  a  godly  ecclesiastical  order,  and  no  man  ever,  in 
his  presence,  touched  the  ark  of  the  Methodist  Constitution 
without  his  strict  scrutiny  and  his  almost  involuntary  susjn- 
cion.  But  for  the  machinery  of  Methodism,  simply  as  such ; 
for  bustling  legislation  and  petty  economics;  for  "strifes  of 
words"  and  "vain  jangling"  about  conformity  to  this  or  to 
that  more  ancient  institute ;  for  the  rigidly  logical  proprieties 
of  things;  and  for  dry  precedents  and  abstract  points  in  gen- 
eral, my  father  never  troubled  himself,  "  no,  not  for  an  hour." 

He  carefully  collected,  while  the  controversies  lasted,  the 
tracts  and  pamphlets  which  bore  upon  them.  One  printed 
letter,  circulated  in  1796  by  certain  local  preachers,  trustees, 
leaders,  etc.,  "  to  their  brethren  in  the  Stockport  Circuit,"  lies 
before  me.  It  contains  i>ertinent  quotations  from  the  writings 
of  Dr.  Robertson  and  of  Alexander  Kilham,  and  complains  of 
"the  secret  distribution  of  money;"  of  the  jicople  being  gov- 
erned by  the-  preachers ;  then,  agam,  of  the  people  being  gov- 
erned by  the  trustees ;  of  Wesley's  Deed-Poll ;  of  lawyers  (e.  </., 
"  God  forbid  we  should  gain  information  by  going  to  law  be- 
fore unbelievers!");  and  of  divers  other  things,  which,  "if 
real" — but  they  seem  to  h.ave  doubted  it — were  clearly  dread- 
ful "  evils;"  and  winds  \ip  in  that  form  of  interrogative  argu- 
ment which  only  a  practiced  hand  should  venture  to  employ. 


88  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   ]JUNTING. 

Seven  questions  are  aske<l.  "Is  it  riglit  that  every  society 
should  choose  its  own  leaders  and  stewards?"  that  is,  of 
course,  without  the  assistance  of  the  minister.  ^ly  father  has 
written  "  No ;"  and  he  has  recorded  a  similar  answer  to  a 
question  Avhieh  he  seems  to  have  iniderstood,  hut  I  do  not. 
The  remaining  queries  have  fairly  puzzled  him.  He  has  left 
them  unanswered. 

Such  was  young  Jabez  Bunting's  traming  for  the  faithful 
service  which  he  rendered  to  the  Church  during  nearly  sixty 
years.  He  was  Methodism's  own  loving  and  grateful  child. 
Young,  and  therefore  quickly  and  easily  impressed,  he  enjoyed 
the  preaching,  the  pastoral  attentions,  and  the  intimate  society 
of  some  of  its  best  and  ablest  ministers,  and  that  durmg  a 
period  of  its  history  when  the  resources  of  their  wisdom  and 
piety  were  most  demanded,  and  were  put  into  the  best  and 
most  active  exercise.  His  opinions  and  sympathies  were  thus 
formed  and  fostered  in  circumstances  favorable  to  early  ma- 
turity. His  education  had  been  various  and  systematic,  and 
well-calculated,  on  the  whole,  to  prepare  him  for  the  extensive 
sphere  of  Tluty  he  was  so  soon  to  till.  He  had  seen  much  of 
the  Church,  and,  for  his  years,  a  good  deal  of  the  Avorld.  And 
liis  opportunities  and  advantages  had  been  diligently  cultivated 
and  improved  with  a  lively  feeling  of  obligation  to  Him  Avho 
hail  given  them,  and  Avith  a  deep  sense  of  the  rcsi)onsibilities 
Avhich  they  involved.  I  (juit  the  subject — many  of  its  details 
novel  to  myself — with  regret,  as  one  leaves  a  gallery  where 
liangs  the  portrait  of  a  comely,  happy  youth  fiist  rising  mto 
manhood  ;  a  f\ice  that,  though  you  did  not  know  it,  strangely 
set  your  heart  a  beating;  but — the  thouglit  flashed  upon  you 
all  at  once — it  was  your  dear  and  kindly  father;  the  same  who 
sat  but  lately  in  his  easy-chair  by  the  waiin  fireside,  bending 
in  the  benignant  beauty  of  age;  looking  thoughtfully  at  you; 
and — the  old  saint  growing  every  day  more  like  the  Holy 
Child  Jesus — "both  hearing"  and  asking  "questions." 


CALL  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  89 


CHAPTER  Yll. 

CALL  TO  TUE   CHRISTIAN   JIINISTRT. 

A  Locfil  Preacher. — Ilis  Doubts  and  Decision. — First  Sermon. — Trial  Ser- 
mon.— Exercises  as  to  his  Call  to  the  Ministiy. — Correspondence  with 
Mr.  Mather. — Letter  announcing  his  Intention  to  Dr.  Pcrcival. — Re- 
ceived on  Trial  at  the  Conference  of  1799. 

I  UAVE  already  related  how,  early  in  1V98,  my  father  gave 
an  exhortation  to  an  out-door  congregation  at  James  Ash- 
croft's  house  in  Salford.  No  doubt  he  had  used  the  same  gift 
at  the  prayer-meetings  which  I  have  also  described.  But  now 
something  more  formal  was  expected  from  him,  and  his  friends 
urged  him  to  try  to  preach.  They  would  look  forward  to  his 
becoming  an  itinerant  preacher ;  but  he  took  one  step  only  at 
a  time ;  and  all  that  he  seems  to  have  resolved  upon,  when  a 
young  man,  nineteen  years  of  age,  was  to  employ  himself  as  a 
lay,  or,  as  the  Methodists  call  it,  a  "  local  preacher ;"  still  pur- 
suing the  study,  with  a  view  to  the  practice,  of  his  profession. 
Had  this  intention  been  fulfilled,  he  would  have  become  one 
of  the  very  few  physicians  who  have  engaged  in  the  double 
duty  of  curing  the  bodies  and  the  souls  of  men. 

But  he  embarked  in  this  subordinate  sphere  of  usefulness 
after  long  consideration  and  much  pinyer,  and  m  a  truly  hum- 
ble frame  of  mind.  On  a  sUp  of  paper  I  find  the  follo"\ving 
memorandum : 

"  JPro. 

"  1 .  The  want  of  laborers,  specially  such  as  are  tolerably 
intelligent  and  well-informed  persons. 

"  2.  The  general  duty  of  using  every  talent  that  God  has 
imparted ;  remembering  that '  the  supply  of  the  means  is  the 
requisition  of  the  duty.' 

"  3.  The  deep-rooted  and  long-continued  conviction  that  I 
am  called  to  this  work. 

"  4.  The  opinion  of  those  Christian  friends  whom  I  have 
consulted,  and  that  of  others  who  aj)pear  to  expect  it  from  me. 


90  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

"  Contra. 
"  1.  ]\ry  own  deficiency  in  point  of  knowledge. 
"2.  My  want  of  lime  for  religious  study. 
"  3.  My  youth  and  inexperience. 

"  4.  My  unfaithfulness  to  God's  grace,  and  my  littleness  of 
faith  and  love. 

"5.  My  rare  opportiuiities  of  exercising. 


"  Lord,  teach  nie  what  Thou  -wouldest  have  me  to  do ! 
''Augtist,  1798." 

Probably  most  persons  who  read  and  balance  these  reasons 
for  and  against  his  beginning  to  preach  at  so  early  an  age 
will,  on  the  Avhole,  concur  in  his  decision.  He  had  been,  for 
nearly  four  years,  a  steady  Christian,  and  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  been  placed  in  a  position  where  continual  converse  with 
judicious  and  able  ministers  made  him  familiar  with  preaching 
as  an  exercise.  He  must  have  discovered,  too,  by  this  time, 
as  clearly  as  he  ever  did,  that  he  had  the  gifts  which,  if  dili- 
gently cultivated,  would,  by  God's  blessing,  make  him  a  suc- 
cessful preacher.  Al)ovc  all,  there  lay,  "  deep-rooted"  in  his 
heart,  the  conviction  that  he  was  called  to  this  work.  He  did 
not,  indeed,  know  the  full  import  of  the  call  he  liad  received. 
He  was  "  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon" 
him  the  sacred  "  office  to  serve  God,  lor  the  promoting  of  His 
glory  and  the  edifying  of  his  people."  But,  as  yet,  the  Divine 
monition  iinju'cssed  liinuonly  Avilli  the  general  duty  of  using 
every  talent  that  "God  has  unparted."  Afterward,  and  as  he 
faithfully  fulfilled  this  duty,  he  came  to  learn  that  the  summons 
contamcd  a  deeper  meaning. 

The  i»rccedent  sui)plied  l)y  his  case,  however,  Avill  not,  I  ]ire- 
suinc,  be  (pioted  in  favor  of  em])loying  in  the  serious  business 
of  the  j)ulpit  raw  and  inexperienced  converts,  not  "  intelligent 
and  well-informed,"  and  especially  where  tliere  is  no  "  want  of 
la])orers."  Wesley  never  said  a  wiser  thing  than  when  he  told 
Mather,  who,  so  soon  as  he  knew  the  truth,  Avislied  to  ])reach 
it,  "This  is  a  connnon  temptation  to  young  men."  To  those 
dee]»ly  solicitous  that  Methodism  should  still  wield  with  vigor 
and  effect  the  ancient  i)owers  of  a  ])reaclied  (lospel,  the  (pies- 
tion  often  presents  itself  whether  our  famiharity  Avith  that  bless- 


CALL  TO  THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  91 

ed  ordinance  never  renders  us  careless  as  to  the  character  and 
qiialiiications  of  those  Avho  are  permitted  to  engage  in  it.  Eco- 
nomically, we  are  dejiendent,  to  an  immense  extent,  upon  the 
services  of  local  preachers ;  and  I  sjieak,  not  of  the  stars  and 
prodigies  among  that  admirable  class  of  men,  but  of  its  bulk 
and  body,  and  more  especially  of  those  who,  in  wide-spread  cir- 
cuits, and  sometimes  throughout  half  a  county,  emulate,  at  least 
in  zeal,  self-sacrifice,  and  diligence,  the  labors  of  the  regular 
ministry,  when  I  record  my  father's  cordial  appreciation  of  the 
cheerfuhicss,  ability,  fidelity,  and  success  with  which  those  la- 
l)ors  are  discharged.  But,  surely,  our  dependence  upon  this 
great  and  necessary  system  should  induce  us  to  maintain,  im- 
prove, and  guard  it.  Are  "babes  m  Christ"  never  employed 
in  tasks  beyond  their  strength,  and  those  whose  nutrition  should 
be  the  first  care  of  the  Church  set  to  play  at  nurturmg  others  ? 
Not  that  they  are  to  be  without  suitable  and  suflicient  exercise ; 
but  "out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucldings"  is  chiefly  "per- 
fected" "  praise" — the  fresh  and  glowing  testmiony  which  tells 
of  the  continued  presence  of  Christ  in  His  Church.  As  the 
powers  of  action  gradually  develop  and  mature,  there  are  quiet 
occupations,  such  as  old  Methodists  were  content  to  spend  their 
lives  upon — the  cottage;  the  sick-bed;  the  work-house;  the 
infirmary ;  the  prison ;  and  the  prayer-meeting,  with  its  unpre- 
tentious word  of  warning ;  and  there  is  also  the  Sunday-school 
— this,  however,  never  to  be  entered  without  serious  thought, 
or  m  any  spirit  but  that  of  an  earnest  evangelism.  True,  the 
anxious  pastor  must  seek  out  recruits  for  the  pulpit  as  for  other 
departments  of  service,  and,  in  particular,  is  tremblmgly  alive 
to  the  responsibihty  of  "  committing  to  others  also"  the  weighty 
charge  which  he  liimself  sustahis.  But  fit  candidates  for  the 
pulpit  will  present  themselves  so  long  only  as  it  shall  continue 
undegraded  by  the  vanity,  incompetency,  or  doubtfid  piety  of 
existing  occupants ;  and  as  for  the  holy  ministry,  random  guess- 
es, and  an  easy  carelessness  in  the  choice  of  those  who  are  to 
fill  it,  would  be  the  most  certain  symptoms  of  present  declen- 
sion and  decay.  Let  us  learn  to  think  of  the  three  or  four  thou- 
sand congregations  Avho  every  Sabbath-day  receive  the  very 
bread  of  life,  or  worse  than  nothing,  from  the  hands  of  our  lo- 
cal preachers,  if  with  a  lively  gratitude  to  God,  and  to  the  men 
to  whom  He  has  given  the  heart  thus  to  serve  Him,  yet  with 


92  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTIXG. 

the  solieitiule  -which  they  thoiaselvcs  are,  in  many  cases,  the 
first  to  feel,  as  to  the  preservation  and  imi)rovement  of  this  vast 
ao-ency  of  nsefuhiess.  If  official  vigilance  shoukl  ever  fail,  and 
the  crowds  of  hungry  souls  dependent  upon  jNIethodisni  for  the 
supply  of  their  spiritual  wants  should  be  left  unfed ;  worse  still, 
if  we  should  ever  conic  to  give  them  stones  for  bread,  or  for 
fish  serpents,  the  burden  of  our  ineftcctual  repentance  will  be 
like  his  of  old,  "Tliesc  sheep,  what  have  they  done?" 

My  father  has  left  behind  luni  a  number  of  little  books,  con- 
tainmg,  "  from  the  first  day"  imtil  an  advanced  period  of  his 
ministry,  lists  of  the  texts  of  his  sermons,  of  the  places  where 
he  preached,  and,  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  series,  of  the 
names  of  various  i)crsons  present.  I  conjecture  that  these 
names  were  recorded  as  being  those  of  strangers,  before  A\hom 
he  was  desirous  not  to  preach  again  w^hat  was  substantially  the 
same  sermon.  But  he  was  cautious  as  to  tliis  particular  so  long 
only  as  his  preparations  for  the  pulpit  were,  hi  his  judgment, 
few  and  very  incomplete.  In  the  zenith  of  his  i)Ower  as  a 
preacher  he  cast  all  such  cautions  to  the  wind ;  and,  while  scru- 
piilously  avoiding  repetitions,  often  eagerly  desired,  to  the  same 
congregation,  he  chose,  at  the  time,  that  very  topic  of  discourse 
which  seemed  to  him  best  suited  to  the  season  or  occasion. 
When  the  cares  of  office  pressed  upon  him,  he  took  a  still  wider 
latitude,  and  worked  rather  with  tools  ready  for  his  use,  and  of 
easy  and  familiar  handling,  than  with  those  made  in  the  hurry, 
which,  as  to  all  things  pertaining  to  the  ])ulpit,  his  very  soul 
hated. 

His  first  sermon  was  preached  on  the  twelfth  of  August, 
iVns,  in  a  small  cottage  at  a  place  called  Sodom,  on  the  road 
from  Manchester  to  Blacklcy.  The  text  was  the  latter  part 
of  the  first  verse  in  the  fourteenth  (•hai)ter  of  St.  John's  Gos- 
pel: "Ye  believe  in  (iod,  believe  also  in  Me."  His  IViends, 
James  Wood,  John  Hey  wood,  James  Morris,  and  William  AI- 
biston,  were  present.  The  yellow,  tattered  manuscript  of  his 
]irc))arations  i'or  this  occasion  is  still  extant.  I  believe  it  fur- 
nishes indications  of  his  mature  style  and  power  in  the  pulpit, 
and  ])ossibly  it  may  appear  among  the  number  of  his  ])ublish- 
ed  discoursdil.  Mr.  Wood,  who  watched  his  pulpit  career  with 
a  fon.l  ]jride  and  interest  for  more  than  iifty  years,  always  said 
that  the  iirst  essay  in  the  cottage  was  never  excelled,  either  as 


CALL  TO   THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  93 

to  its  matter,  maimer,  or  manifest  effect.  But  it  is  suggested 
by  Mr.  Jackson*  that  "  this  opinion  was  hastily  formed,  and 
most  probably  arose  from  the  feeling  of  surprise  and  thankful- 
ness experienced  on  hearing  his  first  pulpit  effort,  for  no  unin- 
spired man  ever  attained  to  true  eminence  in  preaching  but  by 
a  course  of  hard  study  and  persevering  prayer.  No  mere 
youth,  let  his  powers  of  mind  and  elocution  be  Avhat  they  may, 
ever  exercised  a  ministry  like  that  of  Jabez  Bunting  in  the  ma- 
turity of  his  manhood."  The  experienced  divine  and  preacher 
speaks  in  the  tone  of  kindly  check  and  warning.  I  venture  to 
give  a  word  of  respectful  encouragement  to  a  class  he  had  not 
in  his  eye.  How  many  cases  have  we  all  known  of  young  men 
Avhosc  natural  endowments  to  themselves,  as  to  others,  seemed 
very  few,  but  Avhose  deep  sense  of  duty,  intense  studiousness, 
increasing  acquisitions,  and  humble  waiting  upon  God  for  His 
succeedhig  blessing,  have  placed  them,  comparatively  soon,  in 
the  first  ranks  of  the  ministry !  These  pages  will  fail  misera- 
bly of  their  object  if  they  do  not,  at  least  in  this  respect,  sus- 
tam  the  impression  produced  by  Mr.  Jackson's  Aveighty  say- 
ings, and  show  that  my  father's  early  popularity  and  influence 
were  due,  not  so  much  to  his  rare  talents  as  to  liis  careful  cul- 
tivation of  them.  And  thus  those  in  every  position  to  whom 
"  much,"  and  those  to  Avhom  "  little  is  given" — all,  indeed,  ex- 
cept the  men  who,  having  little,  think  it  so  much  that  they  do 
not  care  to  make  the  most  of  it,  may  learn  a  profitable  lesson. 

It  is  certain  that  my  father's  preaching  attracted  immediate 
and  general  attention,  although,  as  a  local  preacher,  he  only 
filled  the  pulpit  twenty-nine  times,  and  that  with  but  fourteen 
sermons  in  his  desk.  He  ofliciatcd  chiefly  in  small  preaching- 
rooms  either  in  Manchester  or  in  the  adjacent  villages.  His 
twenty-third  time  of  preachmg  was  at  the  "  Cahdnist"  Chapel 
in  Macclesfield,  and  the  twenty-fifth  to  the  twenty-ninth,  in- 
clusive, at  Monyash  and  other  places  in  the  Peak.  I  hope  his 
mother  went  with  him. 

So  early  as  1784,  John  Pawson,  then  stationed  in  Manches- 
ter, discerned  that  "  some  of  the  people  were  in  great  danger 
of  running  into  wildness."     If  the  peril  had  ever  quite  passed 

*  "The  Character  and  Dismission  of  the  Prophet  Daniel :  a  Sermon  oc- 
casioned by  the  Death  of  the  late  Rev.  Jabez  Bunting,  D.D.,  etc.,  etc. 
London:   John  Mason." 


9i  THE   LIFE   OF  JA13EZ   BUNTING. 

away,  -whicli  is  aoubtriil,  it  had  revived  at  the  period  cf  my 
father's  entrance  upon  his  course  as  a  preacher.    Francis  Mar- 
ris,  then  a  young  man  from  Hull,  and  afterward  a  pattern,  dur- 
ius?  :^  long  life,  of  sober  godliness,  liad,  shortly  before  this  time, 
been  tlie  means  of  introducing  the  sense  and  i)racticc  of  piety 
into  the  household  of  his  employer,  Mr.  Broadluu-st,  an  exten- 
sive draper.     Ilis  master  and  mistress,  and  a  wliole  host  of 
young  men  m  their  service,  went,  at  his  suggestion,  to  hear 
Benson  preach,  and  were  converted.      But  they  w^ere  more 
zealous  than  wise,  and  gathered  round  them  a  number  of  good 
but  ignorant  persons,  who  pursued  the  most  unlikely  means 
for  promoting  serious  religion,  whether  in  their  own  or  in 
other  hearts.     The  chief  resort  of  these  people  was  to  a  room 
called  "  The  Band-room,"  built  by  the  liberality  of  Broadhurst, 
where,  Avitli  less  likelihood  of  official  oversight  and  clieck  than 
m  the  chapels,  they  pursued  their  own  courses  of  action.    The 
good  sense,  liowever,  of  successive  superintendents,  who  knew 
that,  whatever  else  was  done  there,  some  sound  preaching 
could  not  do  any  harm,  supplied  them  with  that  ordinance  ac- 
cordingly.    In  this  room  my  father  preached  the  "  trial-ser- 
mon" which  the  usage  of  the  body  requires  before  the  candi- 
date is  accredited  as  a  local  preacher.     An  excellent  friend,* 
Avlio  was  present  on  this  occasion,  has  related  to  me  the  curious 
scene  which  lie  then  Avitnessed.     In  the  pulpit  stood  a  very 
slim,  timid-looking  boy,  who  gave  out  the  ])reparatory  liymn 
in  peace.    Then  Sister  Broadhurst  and  ]5rother  Dowley  insist- 
ed ujjon  praying,  and  were  both  gratified.    But  Avhen  a  broth- 
er, of  name  u)d<nown,  sought  to  exercise  in  prayer  for  the  third 
time,  the  wrath  of  honest  John  Bnrkenhead,  afterward  a  mis- 
sionary for  two  years  in  the  AVest  Indies,  was  kindled,  and  he 
shouted  out,  "It's  time  for  the  yoimg  mfm  to  begin."     So  the 
service  proceeded  Avithout  farther  interruption.    In  a  very  few 
years  these  irregularities  were  stoi)ped,  and  i)artly  by  my  fa- 
ther's own  counsels  and  exertions. 

I  shall  gratify  t)je  curiosity  of  some  by  naming  the  texts  of 
the  fourteen  sermons  wliich  formed  liis  entire  stock  dining  the 
eleven  months  of  liis  emplo)nnent  as  a  local  preacher.  Besides 
the  first,  already  t^iven,  are.  Numbers,  xxiii.,  10;  Luke,  ii.,  10, 
] )  ;  [>ul<e,  ii.,  14  J  Isaiah,  Iv.,  G;  Titus,  ii.,  11,  1:5;  T>til<(',  xii., 
■■■-  TN.Kni  |("iiMiii.  F^fi-.  of  Manclicslor. 


CALL  TO   THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  95 

32;  Matthew,  xi.,  28;  Romans,  vi.,  17;  Numbers,  x.,  29;  1 
Timothy,  iii.,  16;  Liiko,  xxiv.,  34;  PhUippians,  iv.,  19;  and 
Jude  20,  21,  I  gather  from  these  that  the  matter  of  his  preach- 
ing was  chiefly  consolatory  and  hortatory  ;  bi;t  that  he  ah-eady 
aimed  at  that  exhibition  of  exact  and  hmiinons  theology,  com- 
bined with  what  should  be  practically  and  immediately  effect- 
ive, which  so  remarkably  distinguished  his  subsequent  mm- 
istry. 

His  name  appears  on  two  "Plans,"  preserved  by  himself, 
of  the  Manchester  Circuit  during  the  period  between  Febru- 
ary and  August,  1799.  On  the  first  it  stands  last  but  one  on 
the  list  of  preachers.  Above  it  are  those  of  Holland  Hoole, 
the  father  of  Dr.  Hoole — the  latter  for  nearly  twenty  years 
Dr.  Bunting's  able  and  faithful  colleague  in  office,  and  his  as- 
siduous and  welcome  friend  and  visitor  "  in  the  time  of  old 
age"  and  in  his  dpng  moments — and  of  some  of  his  associates 
in  the  society  I  have  described  in  the  fifth  chapter — John  Hey- 
Avood,  George  Burton,  William  Bennett,  James  Wood,  and 
Solomon  Ashton.  Mr.  Thompson  and  Mr.  Barber  sign  certifi- 
cates on  the  two  documents  successively :  ^'  The  bearer  here- 
of, Jabez  Bunting,  is  an  approved  local  preacher  here,  and  may 
be  employed  as  such  wherever  he  comes." 

At  the  Quarter  Sessions  held  at  Salford  on  the  10th  of 
April,  1799,  he  "came  before  the  justices  present,"  and  took 
the  oaths  and  declaration  "svhicli  entitled  him  to  the  protection 
of  the  law  "  as  a  Dissenting  minister  ;"*  a  formahty  which  af- 
terward stood  him  hi  good  stead  in  time  of  peril. 

*  Then,  as  now,  the  law  did  not  permit  him  to  take  them  as  a  Methodist 
minister.  It  sanctioned,  as  Lord  Mansfield  held,  his  pnhlic  teaching,  inas- 
much as,  on  condition  of  his  taking  thct^aths,  it  insured  to  him  certain  ex- 
emptions from  the  ordinary  duties  of  citizenship.  But  it  compelled  him  to 
take  them  as  a  Dissenting  minister;  not  caring — [de  minimis  non  curat  lex.') 
— to  recognize  the  distinction  between  a  man  always  ready  to  avow  his 
conscientious  hostility  to  the  national  establishment,  and  one,  not  unfriend- 
ly to  it,  willing,  for  the  sake  of  doing  good,  to  admit  the  simple  fact  of  un- 
conformity. As  though  Lord  Clyde,  in  quieting  the  provinces  of  India, 
should  insist  upon  each  rebel's  declared  hate  of  British  rule  as  the  price  of 
amnesty!  A  question  occurs  to  me,  in  connection  with  these  remarks, 
which  I  do  not  know  how  to  answer.  Since  Nonconformists  generally  ac- 
cept from  the  state  for  their  ministers  certain  privileges  as  and  because  they 
profess  themselves  to  be  Dissenting  ministers,  why  should  those  who  object 
ta  Chiuch-rates  refuse  exemption  from  a  tax,  if  exemption  be  offered  upon 


96  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

Now  light  dawned  upon  him,  and  lie  was  willing  patiently 
to  ponder  ''  the  path  of"  his  "  feet."  A  fragment  only  remains 
of  a  paper  written  when  he  had  made  a  partial  experiment  of 
his  new  voration. 

"  I.  To  tlie  first  question" — its  nature  may  be  easily  inferred 
— "  I  think  I  may  reply  m  the  affirmative.  On  a  serious  con- 
sideration of  this  question  in  August  last,  notwithstanding  a 
deep  sense  of  my  deficiency  in  point  of  religious  knowledge, 
of  my  want  of  time  for  theological  study,  and  of  my  youth,  in- 
experience, unfaithfulness  to  God's  grace,  and  littleness  of  faith 
and  love — notwithstanding  these  discouraging  circumstances, 
I  was  induced  to  engage  in  the  Avork  by  considcrmg  the  want 
of  laborers ;  the  general  duty  of  using  every  talent ;  the  pre- 
sumption that  arises,  from  the  education  and  otlier  means  of 
information  with  which  Providence  has  favored  me,  of  my  be- 
ing, in  some  degree,  not  unqualified  for  the  work ;  the  deep- 
rooted  and  long  conviction  of  my  mind  that  I  ought  to  preach ; 
and,  lastly,  the  opinion  of  those  friends  Avhom  I  have  consulted 
on  the  subject,  and  of  others,  who  all  seem  to  approve  of  the 
attempt.  Since  that  period  I  have  spoken  in  pubUc  six  times, 
and,  tliough  still  very  sensible  of  my  insufficiency,  am  confirm- 
ed by  cxi)erience  in  my  former  decision,  viz.,  that  I  am  called 
of  God  to  preach.  My  own  soul  has  sometimes  been  blessed 
in  the  emplojment,  and,  I  have  reason  to  think,  the  souls  also 
of  them  who  heard  me.  My  friends  are  unanimous  in  advis- 
ing me  to  proceed,  and  seem  satisfied  as  to  my  call;  and  tlie 
conviction  of  ray  own  conscience  that  it  is  my  duty  is  stronger 
than  ever. 

"  II.  But,  this  question  being  decided,  another  equally  per- 
plexing and  important  arises,  viz..  Shall  I  officiate  only  occa- 
sionally as  a  local  )>reacher,  or  shall  I  devote  my  Ufe  entirely 
to  the  service  of  God  and  His  Church,  by  resolving  to  abandon 

Himihir  terms?  And  this  question  remimls  mc  of  another.  If  wc  nrc  to 
liavc  an  act  of  ParUiiment  cnalilinR  a  majority  of  rate-payers  in  any  parish 
to  jiroliilnt  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  within  that  j)arisli,  wiiy  sliould 
not  a  like  majority  preserve  the  ri^ht  to  lay  a  Church-rate?  The  j.rinciple 
contended  for  is  the  ni7/  of  tlie  majority  ;  and  I  suj)pose  tha  friends  of  the 
Maine-law  movement  wouhl  he  as  much  vexed  if  the  majority  refused  to 
shut  up  a  dram-slio])  as  tlie  supi»orters  of  Ciuirch-rates  now  ftsel  when  the 
majority  stops  the  ])arish  clock  or  silences  the  Sabhath  mus-ic  of  church-bells. 


CALL  TO  THE   CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  97 

the  study  of  medicme,  and  to  engage,  at  some  future  period, 
as  a  traveling  preacher  ? 

"  For  the  negative  it  may  be  urged — "  But  here  the  paper 
ends.  * 

Another  memorandum,  more  complete,  deals  with  this  "  per- 
plexing and  important"  matter : 

"1.  The  Avork  is  unspeakably  important,  and  requires  great 
talents,  cultivated  by  great  application,  and  by  more  diligent 
theological  study  than  I  have  been  able  to  j^ursuc.  I  am, 
therefore,  exceedingly  ill  quaUfied  for  an  employment  which 
demands  such  extent  of  knowledge. 

"  2.  My  small  proficiency  in  the  Divine  life  is  another  most 
weighty  objection  against  my  indulging  the  idea  of  any  such 
change  in  my  destination. 

"  3.  My  constitution  of  body  is  by  no  means  strong,  and  is  ill 
fitted  to  bear  the  fatigues  and  inconveniences  of  an  itinerant  life. 
"  4.  My  education  and  studies  have  been  for  some  time  reg- 
ulated by  the  idea  of  my  being  destined  to  practice  physic, 
and  if  I  now  abandon  that  idea  I  shall  lose  the  fruits  of  much 
labor ;  I  shall  have  put  my  friends  to  much  useless  expense ; 
whereas,  by  pursuing  my  present  plan,  with  advantages  and 
prospects  of  success  such  as  I  possess,!  may  hope  to  have  it  in 
my  power  to  show  my  gratitude  to  an  aged  mother,  and  my 
affection  to  my  yomig  sisters,  by  rendering  them  that  support 
and  assistance  for  which  they  have  a  just  claim  upon  me. 
"  For  the  affirmative  I  should  consider, 
"  1.  The  want  of  laborers. 

"  2.  The  duty  of  being  as  extensively  useful  as  possible  in 
the  vineyard  of  my  Lord. 

"  3.  The  deeivrooted  and  long-continued  conviction  of  my 
mind  that  a  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  is  committed  to  me, 
and  that '  woe  is  me'  if  I  do  not  spend  my  hfe  in  preachuig  the 
Gospel. 

"  The  opinion  of  all  friends  whom  I  have  consulted,  and  of 
more  of  whose  opinions  I  have  heard,  and  es])ecia]ly  the  advice 
of  those  who  know  from  experience  what  the  situation  of  a 
Methodist  preacher  is,  namely,  JNli*.  Thompson,  jMr.  Barker,* 
and  Mr.  Marsden, 

*  The  late  Kev.  Jonathan  Barker,  then  stationed  in  the  Manchester  Cir- 
VoL.  I.— E 


98  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

"After  seriously  Aveit^liing  tliese  considerations,  I  am  clear 
that,  notwithstanding  my  mifaithfulness  and  insutliciency,  I 
shall  be  more  useful,  more  holy,  and  more  happy  in  the  situa- 
tion of  a  ^Methodist  i)reacher  than  in  any  other,  and  that,  there- 
fore,! ought  to  look  forward  to  it. 

"Here  my  mind  for  some  time  rested;  but  on  the  11th  of 
November,  1798,  Mr.  Barker  advised  me  seriously  to  consider 
whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  bring  the  matter  to  an  issue 
at  once,  and  to  go  out  as  an  itinerant  at  the  Conference  of 
1799.  In  December,  1798,  or  January,  1799,  Mr.  Thompson, 
our  superintendent,  strongly  urged  me  to  the  same  purpose.* 
I  am  now,  therefore,  involved  in  as  much  anxiety  as  ever  to 
know  whether  I  ought  to  wait  until  August,  1800,  or  to  com- 
ply with  the  otfer  made  by  Mr.  Thompson  of  gohig  out  in 
1799. 

"  For  the  former  plan  is  urged, 

"  1.  That  I  am  but  a  yonng  man,  and  should  not  have  com- 
pleted my  twenty-lirst  year  in  August,  1799,  and  therefore 
could  not,  perha))s,  be  received  Avith  sufficient  res})ect ;  and, 

"  2.  I  am  yet  but  a  young  jyreachcr,  and  have  had  but  very 
little  practice  in  the  work.  I  should,  therefore,  find  it  very 
difficult  to  fliee  large  and  numerous  congregations,  to  which  I 
had  never  before  been  accustomed. 

"  3.  ]My  stock  of  skeletonsf  is  yet  so  small  that  I  should  find 
it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  avoid  sameness  and  repetition 
when  I  had  to  preach  to  the  same  congregation  several  times 
in  a  week. 

"  4.  I  am  as  yet  imaccustoraed  to  preaching  more  than  twice 
a  day  in  or  near  Manchester.  How,  then,  would  my  health 
bear  the  fatigue  of  ])reaching  three  or  four  times,  adtled  to 
that  of  traveling  perhaj)S  many  miles? 

"  C)m  the  other  hand  it  may  be  observed, 

"  II"  I  stay  another  year  in  my  i)resent  situation  (as  I  must, 
if  I  stay  at  all),  the  difficulties  above  mentioned  will  be  very 

cuit,  n  man  who  nbandoncd  prospects  of  affluence,  and  worked  long  and 
steadily  as  an  itinerant  jircacher. 

*  It  was  one  of  the  last  services  he  rendered  to  the  Church.  Tie  left  the 
circuit  iluririK  tlie  following  month  of  Ajiril,  and  died  in  May. 

t  I  hope  the  youn^  medical  student's  use  of  this  term  will  not  he  mis- 
taken hy  any  innocent  reader,  who  may  casually  open  the  volume  at  this 


CALL  TO  THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  99 

little  removed.  My  oppoi'tunities  of  exercising  are  so  limited 
that,  if  pramce  be  essential  to  any  improvement,  I  must  go 
somewhere  else  to  attain  it."  But  here,  again,  the  MS.  breaks 
off. 

Mr.  Mather  was  consulted,  and  in  a  letter,  addressed  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1799,  "to  Mr.  George  Marsden,  Methodist  Chapel  in 
Macclesfield,"  evidently  remembering  how  "  common"  a 
"temptation"  it  Avas  "for  young  men  to  Avish  to  preach," 
writes  Avarily  as  follows : 

"  N.B. — The  case  of  Mr.  Bunting  requires  much  considera- 
tion, as  his  all  depends  iipon  it.  It  seems  almost  for  eternity 
and  time.  Much,  therefore,  depends  upon  the  clear  conviction 
of  his  owTi  mind.  If  this  can  not  be  at  rest  unless  he  devotes 
himself  to  the  Avork  of  God,  and  he  is  at  liberty  to  abandon  all 
Avorldly  hopes  of  ever  becoming  acquainted  AAdth  a  profession* 
that  AA'ill  be  gentle  bread  at  some  not  A^ery  distant  period,  the 
matter  is  ended.  He  alone  should  judge  and  determine  in  this 
case,  as  he  only  is  likely  to  feel  the  good  or  bad  effects  in  this 
point  of  vicAV.  There  can  be  little  doubt  of  his  bemg  received 
into  the  work  on  trial,  as  you  and  others  Avould  recommend 
him.  I  Avould,  therefore,  request  that  he  should  lay  the  mat- 
ter before  the  Lord,  and  ask  his  friends  to  do  the  same  in  ear- 
nest 2)rayer,  until  the  AA'ill  of  the  Lord  should  be  known." 

My  father  himself  then  addressed  Mr.  Mather : 

"  Dear  and  iioxored  Sir, — My  friend,  Mr.  George  Mars- 
den, sent  me,  some  time  ago,  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  you. 
It  appears  that  he  had  AA'ritten  to  you  concerning  my  going 
out  next  Conference  as  a  traveUng  preacher.  Accept  my  best 
thanks  for  the  consideration  you  have  bestowed  on  my  case, 
and  for  the  advice  you  haA^e  so  kindly  given  me  on  this,  to  me, 
most  important  subject.  I  noAV  thuik  it  my  duty  to  lay  the 
Avhole  matter  before  you,  and  hope  your  goodness  Avill  excuse 
this  intrusion  upon  your  time  and  attention. 

"EA'er  since  my  conA'ersion  to  God  in  the  year  1794,  and, 
indeed,  for  a  much  longer  jjeriod,  I  haA^e  been  strongly  im- 
pressed Avith  an  idea  that  I  should  be  called  to  tlie  Avork  of 

*  Mr.  Mather  broufrht  up  his  own  son  to  it,  of  which  bold  action,  on  the 
part  of  a  poor  Methodist  preacher,  Jlr.  Tawson,  sixty  yeare  ago,  thought  it 
necessary  ty  render  an  cxvhination  and  a  defense. 


100  THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

the  ministry.  This  impression  continued  to  follow  mo  ■with 
siieh  increasing  Ibree  that,  after  much  prayer  and  (#nsider.ation, 
and  after  taking  the  ojnnion  of  my  Christian  friends,  I  thought 
it  my  duty  to  make  the  attempt,  which  I  did,  with  much  fear 
and  trendiling,  in  August  last.  The  conviction  tliat  1  am 
called  to  preach  has  ever  since  been  more  and  more  clear ;  and, 
encouraged  by  the  mianimous  oi)inion  of  my  fi'iends,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Thompson,  Brother  Iley  wood,  and 
others  of  our  local  preachers,  I  have  exercised  my  httlc  talent 
as  often  as  opportunity  has  occurred ;  not,  however,  without 
frequently  feeling  such  fears  and  anxieties,  and  such  a  con- 
sciousness of  my  inabiUty,  that  nothing  but  a  sense  of  duty 
could  have  induced  mc  to  persist. 

"It  was  in  November  last  that  Mr.  Barker  first  proposed  to 
me  to  go  out  as  a  traveling  preacher  at  Conference.  This 
proposal  Mr.  Thompson  soon  afterward  repeated,  and  strongly 
advised  mc  to  comply,  as  did  also  Mr.  Barber,  Mr.  Marsden, 
and  other  friends.  I  have  seriously  weighed  the  subject,  and 
liave  made  it  a  matter  of  earnest  and  continual  prayer  from 
that  tuue  to  this.  On  the  one  hand,  I  consider  my  youth 
(being  now  only  about  twenty),  the  little  progress  I  liavo 
made  in  the  ways  of  God,  my  unfaithfulness  to  Divine  grace, 
my  inexperience  and  want  of  practice  in  preaching,  and  the 
niis])eakable  importance  of  the  work  ;  and  these  reflections  al- 
most deter  me  from  entertaining  the  idea.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  consider  the  danger  of  shrinking  from  what,  after  all,  I  can 
not  help  tlunking  to  be  my  duty,  and  of  refusing  to  comply 
with  Avhat  seems  to  all  my  friends  to  be  the  call  of  Providence. 
On  the  whole,  therefore  (though  with  much  fear  of  running 
before  I  am  sent),  recollecting  the  promises  of  Divine  support 
and  assistance,  and  that  my  sufficiency  must  bo  in  God,  I  think 
the  conviction  of  my  mind  is  clear  tliat  I  ought  to  com])ly  with 
the  pro])osal ;  that  I  can  never  l)e  at  rest  unless  I  devote  my- 
self wholly  to  the  work  of  God  ;  and  that  the  life  of  a  IVIetho- 
dist  ]ireachcr,  all  circumstances  considered,  is  that  in  which  I 
shall  Ijc  most  holy,  liap})y,  and  useful. 

"P>om  one  of  the  considerations  above  mentioned,  viz.,  my 
inexperience  and  Avant  of  ])ractice  in  ))reacliitig,  I  have  often 
llionght  it  would  be  belter  to  stay  another  year,  and  to  go  out 
in  August,  1800,  at  Avhich  tune,  with  (lie  blessing  of  God,  I 


CALL  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  101 

might  be  more  fit  for  taking  a  circuit.  Sucli  a  determination, 
indeed,  I  had  ahnost  made  in  my  own  mind ;  but  I  could  not 
rest  while  I  thought  of  adhering  to  this  resolution  ;  and,  upon 
reconsidering  the  matter  with  my  friends,  I  think  I  have  seen 
reason  to  alter  it.  You  are  aware  that  I  now  live  in  the  house 
of  Dr.  Percival,  of  Manchester.  The  last  time  I  spoke  to  him 
on  the  subject,  the  plan  he  recommended  me  was  this :  that  I 
should  stay  wath  him  till  midsummer,  1799;  that  I  should 
then  prosecute  my  medical  studies  for  a  year  in.  London  or 
Edinburgh;  and,  in  the  year  1800,  return  and  settle  in  Man- 
chester. Now,  sir,  to  spend  a  year  from  June,  1799,  in  finisli- 
ing  my  medical  education,  -with  the  fixed  intention  of  aban- 
doning medicine  forever  in  August,  1800,  would  be  a  most 
mijustifiablc  waste  both  of  time  and  of  money,  to  which  my 
conscience,  and  my  duty  to  a  widowed  mother  and  tAvo  sisters, 
would  hardly  allow  me  to  consent ;  and,  even  if  Dr.  Perci\al, 
whose  kindness  to  me  is  almost  paternal,  were  willing  to  alter 
his  plan — for  "\ve  never  entered  into  any  absolute  agreement, 
either  written  or  verbal — and  w^ould  permit  me  to  stay  with 
him  in  Manchester  another  year,  it  would  stiU  be  a  waste  of 
time ;  for  I  atn  here  so  unavoidably  confined,  and  so  much  de- 
barred from  opportmiities  of  exercising,  being  obliged  to  attend 
the  doctor  as  an  amanuensis  almost  as  much  on  Sundays  as  on 
other  days,  that  I  should  not  have  much  more  2>i'actical  ktiotol- 
edf/e  of  preaching  a  year  hence  than  I  have  now.  At  least,  I 
might  improve  myself  more  in  three  months,  were  I  in  a  cu*- 
ciut,  than  I  could  in  twelve  while  I  remain  here. 

"  As  to  abandoning  my  hopes  of  nicdical  success,  though 
not  one  young  man  in  ten,  perhaps,  has  so  flattering  prospects 
in  that  way  as  myself,  I  can,  blessed  be  God,  freely  and  cheer- 
fully give  them  up,  if  He  calls  for  the  sacrifice.  Gold  is  dust 
compared  to  souls ;  and  if,  through  mercy,  I  may  be  happily 
instrumental  in  brmging  souls  to  God,  I  trust  I  am  content  to 
forego  all  worldly  advantages,  and  to  sufier  for  Him,  by  His 
grace,  the  loss  of  all  things. 

"  From  the  above  statement,  you  will  perceive,  sir,  the  deli- 
cacy of  my  situation  M-ith  respect  to  Dr.  Percival.  I  do  not 
see  how  I  can,  with  propriety,  inform  him  of  my  resolution  to 
leave  his  family,  unless  I  have  as  much  certainty  as  the  nature 
of  the  case  will  admit  of  niy  bemg  received  and  appointed  to 


102         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

a  circuit  at  tlic  next  Conference.  Another  difiiculty  arises  also 
with  respect  to  my  dear  mother  and  sisters,  to  whom  (my 
father  being  dead,  and  I  iiis  only  son)  my  occasional  presence 
and  assistance  are  almost  essentially  necessary. 

"  Having  thus  inireservedly  laid  before  you  all  the  circum- 
stances of  my  case,  I  have  only  to  apologize  for  the  length  of 
this  letter,  and  to  request  that  you  will  be  kind  enough  to 
favor  me  with  an  answer  to  the  three  following  queries,  viz. : 

"  1.  Do  you,  on  the  whole,  advise  me  to  go  out  at  the  next 
Conference  ? 

"  2.  If  so,  how  far  may  I  depend  on  being  admitted  upon 
trial  at  the  Conference,  pro\dded  I  be  satisfactorily  recom- 
mended by  the  Quarterly  and  District  meetings  ? 

"  3.  Would  it  be  impertinent  for  me  to  request  and  to  hope 
that,  for  the  first  year,  I  may  be  sent  to  some  circuit  at  such 
a  moderate  distance  from  Manchester  as  would  admit  of  some 
occasional  visits  to  my  mother  ? 

"  I  beg  my  very  affectionate  respects  to  Mrs.  M.,  and  shall 
be  glad  to  hear  that  she,  yourself,  and  your  son  William  are  in 
tolerable  health.  Begging  an  interest  in  your  prayers  that  the 
Lord  may  direct  and  helj)  me,  I  am,  dear  and  honored  sir,  your 
very  affectionate  and  much-obliged  servant, 

"  Jabez  Bunting. 

"  P.S. — Please  to  indulge  me  with  your  answer  in  a  post  or 
two,  that  I  may  make  my  decision  before  our  Quarterly  meet- 
ing, which  is  fixed  for  Monday  next." 

The  folloAving  is  Mr.  Mather's  reply,  addressed  to  "  Mr. 
Buntmg,  No.  33  Church  Street,  Manchester :" 

"London,  March  22d,  1799, 
"  My  dear  Brother, — Yours  (before  me)  fully  silences  all 
the  fears  I  suggested  to  Mr.  Marsden,  as  it  proves  you  have 
had  full  counsel,  and  are  come  to  a  fixed  determination  upon 
the  business  hi  hand. 

"  I  send  this  hasty  line  that  I  may  be  no  let  to  your  })ro- 
ceeding  regularly,  as  your  Quarter  day  is  on  Monday,  and  the 
rather  as  I  see  no  reason  now  to  suppose  your  requests  will 
not  be  fully  agreed  to.  Meantime,  give  my  love  to  all  my 
brethren,  the  traveling  preachers,  with  all  my  other  friends 


CALL  TO  THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  103 

and  brethren  in  Manchester,  as  if  named,  to  whom  I  wish 
great"  {illegible)  "  and  much  prosperity.  Tell  Brother  Hey- 
wood  he  took  a  kind  of  French  leave :  I  made  sure  of  seeing 
him  again  to  say  farewell.     Our  love  to  him. 

"  Remember  me  to  your  mother  and  sisters,  to  whom  I  hope 
you  will  ever  prove  a  dutiful  child  and  affectionate  brother. 
Pray  for  your  (who  is  jomed  by  his  in  love  to  both,  andi^ar- 
ticularly  your  uncle  Josepli)  ever  ready  servant  in  Christ, 

"A.  Mather." 

A  letter  to  Dr.  Percival,  announcing  his  intention  to  enter 
the  ministry,  concludes  the  notices  of  this  period. 

*'Dear  and  honored  Sir, — I  have  for  some  weeks  past 
wished  to  mention  to  you  in  person  the  subject  of  this  letter, 
but  liave  always  found  myself  unable,  from  a  variety  of  pain- 
ful feelmgs,  to  perform  that  task.  I  am  therefore  compelled  to 
ta^e  this  mode  of  communicating  what  it  would  be  culpable 
in  me  longer  to  conceal,  viz.,  that  I  have  it  in  contemplation  to 
abandon  the  study  of  medicine,  and  to  enter  into  the  ministry 
among  the  Methodists. 

"  This  intention,  I  trust,  is  the  result  of  mature  and  impar- 
tial consideration,  and  of  a  full  conviction  that  the  proposed 
change  in  my  destination  will  essentially  promote  the  happi- 
ness and  usefuhiess  of  my  future  life.  The  most  serious  obsta- 
cle to  my  decision  has  been  the  fear  that  I  should  not  obtain 
from  you  that  concurrence  and  approbation  which  I  anxiously 
wish  on  this,  and  on  every  occasion,  to  possess.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, that,  should  you  think  me  to  have  erred  in  my  views, 
and  disapprove  of  my  conduct,  you  will  nevertheless  do  me  the 
justice  to  believe  that  I  am  influenced  solely  by  a  sense  of  what 
appears  to  be  my  duty. 

"The  period  at  which,  if  it  suit  your  arrangements,  I  should 
wish  to  be  at  liberty,  is  the  middle  of  next  July.  But  I  shall 
be  solicitous,  on  this  point,  scrupulously  to  consult  your  con- 
venience ;  and,  if  you  particularly  desire  it,  I  shaU  certainly 
think  myself  bound  in  justice  to  stay  with  you  another  year. 

"  It  is  w^th  emotions  of  unspeakable  regret  that  I  look  for- 
ward to  so  speedy  a  termination  of  my  present  connection 
with  you.    I  have  spent  in  your  household  the  happiest  years 


104  THE   LIFE   OF  J.iBEZ   BUNTING. 

of  my  life,  and  shall  never  cease  to  entertain  a  most  gratefnl 
and  aliectionate  rcsjject  for  you,  Mrs.  Percivul,  and  your  whole 
family. 

"  IlaviuGj  thus  prepared  the  way  for  a  conversation  Avith  you 
on  this  subject,  I  have  only  to  add  my  warmest  thanks  for  the 
ahuost  paternal  kindness  Avith  which  you  have  honored  me,  and 
to  subscribe  myself,  dear  sir,  your  most  obUged  and  aftection- 
ate  servant,  J.  Bunting. 

"  P.S. — ^For  the  present,  permit  me  ]  ]ir    ^.j,    f  . 
to  request  that  you  wiU  conceal  the  I     Xn72ol/^  1799." 
contents  ot  this  letter. 

Dr.  Percival,  as  was  to  be  expected,  was  not  very  avcII  pleased 
with  the  change  thus  announced;  but  he  very  kuidly  acqui- 
esced in  it ;  and  my  father,  havhig  passed  through  the  usual 
examination  to  which  candidates  for  the  itinerancy  were  then 
subjected,  was  received  by  the  Conference  of  1 799  as  a  "  preaph- 
er  on  trial,"  and  appointed  to  the  Oldham  Circuit. 

I  have  thus  given  the  narrative  of  my  fl^ther's  call  to  the 
ministry  almost  entirely  in  his  own  words,  and  I  make  no  apol- 
ogy for  pubUshing  all  he  has  left  behhid  him  on  the  subject, 
even  at  the  expense  of  some  repetitions  both  of  thought  and 
language.  Sincerity,  caution,  self-denial,  modesty,  humility, 
decision — these  are  the  qualities  wliicli  strike  me  as  most  ob- 
servable in  all  he  wrote  about  it,  whether  intended  for  perusal 
by  others,  or  for  the  assistance  of  his  own  judgment  and  mem- 
ory. Inote,  too,  his  strong  sense  of  the  obligation  of  filial  and 
other  relative  duties,  and  the  subdued  and  healthy  tone  of  the 
allusions  to  his  own  religious  experience. 


PROBATION  IN  THE  OLDHAM  CIRCUIT.  105 


CHAPTER  Vin. 

PROBATION   FOR  THE   MIISTISTRY   IN   THE   OLDHAM   CIRCUIT. 

Commencement. — John  Gaiiltcr. — Timidity. — Devotedness  to  Study. — Mis- 
cellaneous Correspondence  of  Jabez  Bunting,  Thomas  Preston,  George 
Burton,  Edward  Percival,  John  Hepvood,  the  Steward  of  the  Liverpool 
Circuit,  William  Black,  Dr.  Percival,  Solomon  Ashton,  John  Crook,  and 
John  Gaulter. — Labors  and  Success  at  Oldham. — The  Burtons  of  ]\Iid- 
dlcton. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  August,  1799,  that  Jabez  Bimting 
walked  to  Oldham,  the  principal  place  in  liis  first  circuit ;  his 
only  luggage  bemg  a  pair  of  saddle-bags,  hmig  over  his  shoid- 
der,  containing  his  necessary  wearmg-apparel,  and  the  books 
required  for  immediate  use.  Many  a  Methodist  preacher's 
whole  fortune  had,  before  that  day,  been  carried  in  hke  man- 
ner, the  readiest  being  the  best  means  of  transport  for  those 
who  spent  half  their  lifetime  on  horseback. 

Joseph  Redfern,  his  uncle  and  class-leader,  walked  with  him 
out  of  his  mother's  door,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  on  the 
road.  The  old  man's  heart  was  full,  and  at  a  lone  spot  by  the 
wayside  he  knelt  down,  asked  God's  blessing,  gave  his  own, 
and  parted. 

My  father's  first  superintendent  was  John  Gaulter,  then 
a  minister  of  fourteen  years'  standing;  president  m  1817;  a 
hard-working  pastor  for  eighteen  years  after  his  election  to 
that  office ;  and  then  a  happy,  "  worn-out"  "  supernumerary" 
until  1839,  when  he  died  in  honor  and  in  peace.  My  father's 
own  hand  has  recorded  upon  his  tombstone,  in  the  burial- 
groimd  attached  to  City  Road  Chapel,  that  "  he  was  a  man  of 
much  natural  genius  and  talent,  and  had  acquired,  by  reading, 
large  stores  of  mformation ;"  that  "  his  piety  was  active,  ar- 
dent, and  devout,  and  his  pubHc  ministry  laborious,  impressive, 
evangehcal,  and  eminently  succe^ful  in  the  conversion  of  shi- 
ners to  God,"  while  ''  in  his  pastoral  relations  and  fimctions  he 
was  diligent,  afiectionate,  and  useful."  The  -minutes  of  the 
Conference  testify  that  "  his  character  generally  presented  a 

E  2 


106  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

fine  union  of  intellectual  power,  devotional  feeling,  affectionate 
sensibility,  and  practical  diligence."  I  may  add  that  he  was 
one  of  those  great  men  to  whom  the  Church,  when  they  are 
about  to  embark  in  its  service,  owes  rightfully  the  advantage 
of  a  systematic  trahiing,  and  who,  for  want  of  it,  arc  prevent- 
ed from  doing  full  justice  to  themselves  and  to  their  work.  It 
was  in  the  pulpit  only,  however,  and  there  m  respect  chiefly  of 
the  formal  arrangement  and  nice  finish  of  his  discourses,  that 
any  defect  Avas  observable ;  but  there,  and  every  where  else,  a 
glow  of  kindly  genius  played  about  him,  whicli,  together  "with 
a  pleasant,  innocent,  and  imselfish  egotism,  identified,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  endeared  him  to  his  many  friends.  "  I  have 
road  every  book  in  the  Enghsh  language,"  he  said,  one  day,  m 
Conference ;  but  he  was  put  to  instant  confusion  by  the  in- 
quiry, I  think,  of  Mr.  Blanshard,  the  book  steward,  Avhether  he 
was  master  of"  Tom  Thumb."  My  father  writes  to  him  in  the 
year  1800,  after  Mr.  Gaulter  had  left  Oldham:  "I  need  not  re- 
peat here  what  I  said  in  Leeds,  and  what  you  well  knoAV,  that 
your  presence  at  the  openmg  in  Delph  is  a  sme  qua  wo??,  and 
will  not,  on  any  account,  be  excused.  We  could  neither  sing, 
nor  pray,  nor  preach,  nor  beg,  nor  eat,  nor  smile,  nor  sleep 
witliout  you."  He  was  a  thorough  gentleman,  and  his  wife  a 
lady,  and  imder  their  roof  my  father  niissvd  none  of  the  amen- 
ities he  had  enjoyed  in  Dr.  rercival's  household.  No  Avonder 
that  my  father's  final  record  of  hhn  was  an  expression  "of  ten- 
der and  respectful  love."  The  old  man,  on  his  side,  was  fond 
of  boasting  that  Jabcz  Bunting  was  "  one  of  my  lads." 

My  fatlier  has  preserved  his  i)lans  for  the  whole  period  of 
his  itinerancy.  Tliat  for  the  Oldliam  Circuit  was  not  printed, 
Init,  having  been  made  by  the  superintendent,  was  copied  out 
by  his  colleague  for  his  OAvn  use.  There  were  but  ten  places  on 
the  "round,"  the  farthest  of  which  Avas  distant  six  miles  only. 

Very  few  specific  traditions  can  l)e  collected  as  to  his  histo- 
ry during  the  period  of  his  residence  at  Oldham.  It  is  still 
told,  however,  hoAV,  after  a  week-night  service  in  a  cottage  at 
Suddleworth,  soon  after  Ins  arrival  in  the  circuit,  he  held  anx- 
ious talk  Avith  the  good  man  of  the  house  (ju-obably  it  Avas 
William  Greenwood)  before  he  Avent  to  bed,  and  expressed  his 
fears  that  "he  should  not  bo  able  to  find  materials  to  hold  out 
even  for  six  months ;"  and  how,  locked  up  in  the  "  prophet's 


PROBATION  IN  THE   OLDHAM   CIRCUl'l\  107 

room"  the  whole  of  the  succeeding  day — his  meal-tinies  forgot- 
ten by  the  good  people  below,  because  a  frightful  flood  swept 
through  the  vale,  and  forbade  their  thinking  of  any  thing  but 
their  lives  and  goods — he  came  down  late  m  the  afternoon,  all 
unconscious  of  the  stir,  and  set  off"  to  his  next  place.  Li  this 
circuit,  too,  he  first  "  stood  by  his  order."  When  some  ques- 
tions Avere  mooted  in  the  Quarterly  meeting,  during  the  discus- 
sion of  which  the  preachers  were  expected  to  retire,  he  boldly 
refused  to  do  so ;  and  it  was  declared  by  one  astonished  and 
angry  brother  that  "  a  good  old  rule  had  that  day  been  set 
aside  to  please  that  proud  son  of  Adam,  Jabez  Bunting."  This 
pleasant  episode  remained  for  many  years  recorded  in  the  cir- 
cuit-book, but  has  been  torn  out. 

Six  weeks  after  he  got  into  his  circuit  he  corresponded  with 
his  recent  pastor,  Mr.  Barber,  then  removed  to  Rotherham.  I 
think  both  letters  worth  preserving. 

"Oldham,  Sept.  23d,  1799, 
"  My  deak  Sir, — Though  I  intended  speedily  to  avail  myself 
of  the  privilege  of  your  occasional  correspondence  which  you 
kindly  offered  to  me  when  I  left  Manchester,  yet  I  should  not 
so  soon  have  troubled  you  with  a  letter  but  at  the  desire  of  my 
honored  mother.  She  has  never  received  any  acknowledgment 
for  the  board  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shelmerdine  during  the  Confer- 
ence. As  her  circumstances  will  not  permit  her,  on  this  occa- 
sion, to  act  uj)  to  her  feelings  and  wishes,  she  is  under  the  un- 
pleasant necessity  of  requesting  your  mterference.  Perhaps  a 
line  from  you  (if  possible,  by  return  of  post)  to  the  person  who 
promised  you  to  defray  the  expense  of  this  business,  remindmg 
him  of  his  engagement,  and  urgmg  him  to  the  immediate  ful- 
filhnent  of  it,  would  be  the  best  way  of  terminating  the  mat- 
ter, and  it  would  be  esteemed  as  a  particular  obhgation  both 
by  my  mother  and  myself. 

"  I  have  now  been  nearly  six  weeks  in  this  circuit,  and,  upon 
the  whole,  have  been  agreeably  disappointed.  I  fully  expected 
that  the  first  three  months,  at  least,  would  have  been  a  season 
of  uninterrupted  darkness  and  discouragement.  I  bless  God, 
He  has  been  '  better'  to  me  '  than  mv  boding  fears.'  Thouo:h 
I  have  had  trials  and  exercises  unusually  severe,  I  have  also  re- 
ceived micommon  consolation  and  support,  and,  at  some  times. 


108  *     THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

my  work  has  been  inexpressibly  delightful  to  me.  Tlie  most 
distressing  temptation  that  now  assails  me  arises  from  my  nei- 
ther seeing  nor  hearing  any  striking  or  lasting  fruit  of  my  ht- 
tlc  labors.  Perhaps,  however,  I  am  too  impatient  in  this,  and 
I  live  in  hope  that  I  shall  not  long  be  permitted  '  to  labor  ui 
vain,  or  spend  my  strength  for  naught.'  Through  the  mercy 
of  God,  I  am  more  than  ever  satisfied  as  to  my  call  to  the  work, 
and  am  fully  persuaded  that  my  decision  in  this  matter  was 
agreeable  to  the  Divine  will.  This  clear  conviction  that  I  am 
hi  the  way  of  Providence  tends  more  than  any  thmg  else  to 
encourage  and  support  me,  for  I  can  not  doubt  that  the  path 
of  duty  will  ultimately  be  that  of  happiness  and  success.  I 
think  that  the  following  hues  accurately  express  the  breathings 
of  my  soul :  '  O  may  I  every  mourner  cheer,'  etc.* 

"  We  have  a  tolerable  prospect  of  good  being  done  in  most 
parts  of  our  circuit.  Our  congregations  in  general  are  upon 
the  increase,  and  many  of  the  people  are  ahve  to  God.  Wc 
want,  however,  more  of  what,  in  Manchester,  they  call  the  spir- 
it  of  the  revival ;  more  of  a  willingness  to  let  God  work  in  His 
owm  way,  and  to  become  co-workers  with  Ilim,  however  con- 
trary that  may  be  to  our  own  preconceived  notions  of  order 
and  propriety.  In  this  point  I  am  rather  unpleasantly  situated, 
owing  to  the  divided  sentuncnts  of  our  people  ujwn  these  sub- 
jects.    But  I  desire  to  do  and  know  the  whole  will  of  God. 

"  I  have  thus  fully  opened  my  mhid  to  you,  in  the  hope  that 
you  will  favor  me  with  such  advices  and  directions  as  I  may 
seem  to  need.  A  letter  from  you  Avould  be  truly  acceptable. 
Mr.  Gaulter  joins  me  in  love  to  you ;  and  I  remain  ever,  earn- 
estly begging  your  prayers,  and  with  affectionate  respects  to 
Mrs.  Barber,  my  dear  sir,  your  obliged  and  unworthy  brotlier 
and  servant,  Jakez  Bunting. 

"P.S. — The  ]\ranchester  folks  are  highly  gratified  with 
Messrs.  liradl)urn  and  Coo])er,  and  arc  likely  to  go  on  well. 
Dr.  Coke  is  there  tliis  evenmg,  and  will  l)e  here  to-morrow,  on 

*  The  whole  stanza,  written  by  Cliarles  Wesley,  runs  as  follows : 
"O  nii^lit  I  CVC17  moitmcr  cheer, 

And  troiilile  every  heart  of  stone  ; 
Save,  untlcr  Thee,  the  souls  that  hear, 
Nor  lose,  in  scekint;  them,  my  own; 
Nor  l)asely  from  my  <;illin>;  fly, 
But  for  Thy  Gospel  live  ;iud  die !" 


PROBATION  IN  THE  OLDHAM  CIRCUIT.  109 

Ids  "way  to  Ireland.  Give  me  leave  to  ask  your  opinion  of  the 
doctor's  Commentary,  and  whether  it  would  be  worth  my  while 
to  subscribe  for  it.  At  present,  I  have  none  but  Wesley's  and 
Hammond's  on  the  New  Testament;  the  former  too  concise, 
and  the  latter  too  entirely  critical  to  satisfy  a  Biblical  student." 

"  Rotherham,  October  24th,  1799. 
"  My  very  dear  Brother, — 

4:  ^  :|i  ^  ^ 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  Lord  has  been  better^  to  you 
than  your  fears,  and  that  you  have  fewer  trials  and  more  hap- 
piness than  you  expected.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  ought 
to  encourage  you  to  trust  in  Him,  and  excite  you  to  praise 
Ilim.  The  Lord  knows  whereof  we  are  made,  and  remembers 
we  are  but  dust ;  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  hun.  As  you  are  fully  satisfied  respectmg 
your  call  to  the  work,  and  that  you  are  where  Providence  would 
have  you  to  be,  you  must  leave  the  time  of  fruit  to  the  Lord. 

"  We  are  sometunes  ready  to  think  no  good  is  doing  unless 
sinners  are  aAvakened  and  converted  to  God;  but  this  is  an 
error ;  for  good  is  done  when  the  weak  are  strengthened,  the 
tempted  succored,  the  wavering  confirmed,  and  the  children 
of  God  fed  with  food  convenient  for  them.  And  this,  per- 
haps, is  of  as  much,  if  not  of  more  importance  than  the  awaken- 
ing of  sinners.  At  the  same  time,  remember  that  some  men 
are  particularly  called  to  this  work,  and  you  may  be  one  of 
that  nmnber.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  what  our  friends  at 
Manchester  call  the  spirit  of  the  revival  is  the  spirit  in  which 
we  should  all  five  if  Ave  wish  to  be  useful. 

"  But  you  will  find  that  many  of  the  rich,  and  all  the  luke- 
warm Methodists  wUl  be  against  it,  because  they  want  a  re- 
hgion  and  a  mode  of  worship  that  will  meet  the  approbation 
of  the  world.  If  oin*  ancestors  had  regulated  their  opinions 
and  conduct  according  to  the  judgment  of  the  world,  what 
would  the  Methodists  have  been  at  this  day  ?  I  am  afraid 
that  those  of  om-  friends  who  are  so  desirous  of  having  the 
good  opinion  of  the  world  have  already  missed  their  way,  for 
no  religion  will  please  them  biit  that  of  their  oyn\  stamj).  I 
would  therefore  have  you  to  form  your  notions  from  the  word 
of  truth,  and  not  from  what  this  or  that  man  may  say  on  the 


110  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

sul)ject.  Dr.  Coke's  Coinmcntary  (as  far  as  I  am  ahle  to  judge 
of  it)  is  likely  to  be  the  best  extant ;  but  you  must  consider 
the  price,  and  the  length  of  tune  it  will  be  in  coming  out. 

"  "SVe  arc  very  peaceable  in  our  circuit,  but  at  i)reseiit  have 
no  remarkable  work  of  God.  jNIy  colleague*  is  a  truly  good 
man,  and  acceptable  to  the  people,  and  I  hope  will  be  useful. 

"iPlease  remember  me  to  your  mother  and  all  inquiring 
friends,  as  opportunity  may  serve.  I  am,  my  dear  brother, 
your  truly  affectionate  J-  Baebek." 

The  iate  Rev.  TuoiLVS  Pkestox,  a  very  steady  laborer  in 
Christ's  vineyard  for  nearly  forty  years,  had  been  stationed  in 
Manchester  durmg  the  preceduig  year,  but  had  removed  to 
the  Edmburgh  Circuit.  He  writes  to  my  father  from  Dimbar 
on  March  11  ih,  1800: 

"  I  am  very  fond  of  Scotland,  for  the  many  opportunities  I 
enjoy  of  makhig  improvement  in  usefid  knowledge.  Our  cir- 
cuit is  different  from  most  in  England ;  we  have  but  three 
places  where  we  preach  on  a  Simday — Edinburgh,  Dalkeith, 
and  Dunbar.  The  preachers  in  Edinburgh  and  Dalkeith 
change  every  fortnight  at  Dmibar,  which  is  twenty-seven 
miles  east  of  Edinburgh.  AVe  stay  for  three  months,  except 
the  superintendent,  who  stays  only  about  one  month.  Here  I 
liave  to  preach  live  times  a  m  eek.  I  take  a  walk  out  by  the 
sea-side  before  V)reakfast,  and  then  sit  down  to  read  till  three 
or  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Divinity,  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, Grammar,  and  Logic  take  up  my  time  for  the  present. 
I  lind  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  become  a  soimd  diviire.  To 
skim  over  the  surface  may  be  done  without  much  trouble ; 
]>ut  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  that  to  bo  a  workman 
needing  not  to  be  ashamed  can  not  be  attamed  without  study, 
pethod,  taste,  and  application.  The  people  of  Scotland,  for 
the  most  i)art,  are  a  knowing,  sensil>le  people,  but  there  is  not 
that  depth  of  i)iety  which  knowledge  requires  to  keep  it  in  its 
proper  jjlacc.  But  there  is  no  necessity  that  a  ])reaclier  should 
drink  into  their  spirit ;  and  the  more  he  is  spiritual  in  his  con- 
versation, the  more  he  is  respected  by  them.  I  V)elieve  the 
Lord  hath  called  me  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  ;  but  I  often 
tremble  at  the  thought.  Imi)ortant  trust!  to  have  the  care 
*  Tlic  lalc  Kcv.  Charles  Gloync. 


PKOBATION  IN  THE  OLDHAM  CIRCUIT.  Ill 

of  souls — souls  immortal,  and  bought  with  the  blood  of  Christ 
■—souls  that  must  stand  before  the  Judge  of  all,  and  meet  me 
Defore  Ilim — souls  that  must  be  acquitted  or  condemned  by 
the  very  word  I  i^reach !  Never  court  poiiularity.  Always 
seek  the  good  of  souls ;  and,  while  your  eye  is  smgle,  you  will 
not  only  have  the  approbation  of  God,  but  also  of  good  men." 
From  a  letter  addressed  by  my  father  to  his  friend  Edward 
Percival,  then  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  dated 
April  18th,  1800,  I  extract  as  follows:  "You  are  perfectly 
right  in  supposmg  that  Oldham  is  not  '  the  birth-place  of  gen- 
ius.' I  am  not,  however,  by  any  means  destitute  of  agree- 
able society.  Mr.  Gaulter,  my  colleague  and  superintendent, 
in  whose  house  I  dwell,  is  a  most  pleasing  and  iutelhgent  com- 
panion. My  situation,  on  the  whole,  is  a  very  comfortable 
one,  but  it  is  doubtless  made  more  so  than  it  otherwise  could 
be  by  the  clear  conviction  of  my  mind  that  I  am  in  the  path 
of  duty,  and  that  my  present  profession  is  that  in  which  I  can 
be  most  happy  and  most  useful.  Tlie  improvement  in  my 
health  has  been  great  indeed,  and  may  be  ascribed  to  the  good 
air,  and  to  the  constant  exercise  on  horseback  which  I  am 
compelled  to  take.  I  rejoice  most  cordially  in  the  accounts 
which  your  letter  conveys,  and  which  have  been  confirmed 
from  other  sources,  of  your  health  and  happiness  at  Cam- 
bridge. Your  introductions  to  Mr.  Smyth  and  others  Avore 
peculiarly  fortunate  and  valuable.  A  collegiate  life  is  emi- 
nently favorable  to  the  attainment  of  literary  and  scientific  ex- 
cellence, and  I  am  sure  you  will  not  fail  to  imjDrove  its  advan- 
tages. Last  week  I  read  ^vitli  great  pleasure  Mr.  Hall's  Ser- 
mon on  Modern  Lifidclity.  The  discourse  does  him  much 
honor,  both  as  to  its  matter  and  its  composition,  and  justifies 
the  high  character  you  had  given  him  as  a  preacher.  The 
Baptists  of  Cambridge  seem  to  be  particularly  fortunate  m  the 
choice  of  their  ministers.  Mr.  Hall's  predecessor,  Robert  Rob- 
inson, was  a  man  of  uncommon  genius,*  though  perhaps  a  lit- 

*  So  also  thoxi^lit  one  of  my  fiither's  most  excellent  friends.  After  quot- 
ing in  a  metropolitan  pulpit  some  of  Robinson's  writings,  he  proceeded : 
"Poor  Robinson!  He  was  a  preat  man,  but  he  fell  into  heresy.  Great 
men  are  in  great  danger.  The  Lord  presen-e  me  I"  My  father  himself 
once  said  in  the  course  of  a  sermon,  "We  dojiot  hold  with  that  insinuating 
but  highly  dangerous  writer,  Robinson,  formerly  of  Cambridge,  that  every 
man  who  understands  the  Gospel  has  a  right  to  preach  it." 


112  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

tie  too  violent  iu  the  expression  of  his  Nonconformist  princi- 
ples." 

In  the  April  of  this  year  his  friends  James  Wood  and  George 
Burton,  both  already  local  preachers,  took  a  preaching  tour  in 
Yorkshu'e.  It  seems  that  both  then  intended  to  enter  the  min- 
istry, a  circumstance  of  great  interest  to  those  who  watched 
Mr.  "Wood's  subsequent  career.  "  Surely,"  Mr.  Burton  writes, 
"  there  is  no  emplojTiicnt  under  heaven  so  excellent  and  profit- 
able as  that  of  preaching  the  glorious  Gospel  of  Christ.  We 
seem  to  be  both  determined  to  get  quit  of  the  world  as  soon 
as  we  can,  to  be  engaged  in  the  good  work  together." 

John  Heywood,  another  member  of  the  Young  Men's  So- 
ciety in  Manchester,  had  already  commenced  his  itinerant 
course  m  the  Macclesfield  Circuit,  but  the  state  of  his  health 
compelled  hmi  soon  to  abandon  it.  My  fother  writes  to  him 
on  May  5tli,  1800.  I  give  a  very  few  extracts.  Tlie  writer's 
connection,  in  later  life,  with  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  and 
with  public  affairs  generally,  entitles  them  to  notice.  After 
giving  other  reasons  why  he  could  not  comply  with  his  friend's 
wish  to  meet  him  in  Manchester  on  an  assigned  Wednesday, 
he  proceeds : 

"It  was  my  turn  on  the  days  you  were  there  to  be  at  Tun- 
stead  and  Mosely,  and  on  the  Wednesday  Mr.  Gaulter  and 
myself  were  previously  engaged  to  duie  with  Mr.  Coles,  a  Cal- 
vinist  minister  in  that  neighborhood,  together  with  Mr.  Black- 
burn, the  Independent  minister  of  Delph,  and  Mr.  Ilargreaves, 
a  Ba})tist  minister  of  Ogden.  With  these  gentlemen  we  have 
for  some  time  kejrt  up  a  friendly  connection,  meeting  at  each 
other's  houses  once  a  month,  and  discussing,  after  dinner,  some 
theological  subject.  This  plan,  if  properly  conducted,  may,  I 
think,  upon  the  whole,  be  entertaining  and  })r()litable.  Mr. 
Gaulter  :uid  myself  are  most  decided  Arminians,  and,  there- 
fore, all  disputed  points  are  carefully  excluded  from  our  con- 
versation, though,  if  they  were  not,  there  would  be  little  danger 
of  their  converting  us  to  their  creed.  On  account  of  various 
imtoward  circumstances,  it  is  not  at  present  in  my  ])owcr  to 
change  with  you ;  I  do  not  yet,  however,  give  up  the  idea, 
though  I  am  unable  to  fix  any  time  for  carrying  it  into  execu- 
tion. AVhenever  I  can  with  propriety  accomplish  it,  I  shall  be 
glad  to  seize  the  opportunity.     I  confess,  however,  I  am  much 


TROBATION  IN"  THE   OLDHAM  CIRCUIT.  113 

afraid  of  the  Macclesfield  pulpit  and  congregation,  and  I  hardly 
know  whether  I  dare  make  the  attempt.  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  very  general,  and,  indeed,  a  very  just  alarm  throughout 
the  kingdom,  occasioned  by  Mr.  Taylor's  proposed  Bill*  for 
amending  the  Toleration  Act.  I  am  happy  to  assure  you,  on 
the  authority  of  two  letters  I  have  received — one  from  Mr. 
Taylor  himself,  dated  April  15th,  the  other  dated  April  29th, 
from  his  attorney,  Mr.  Ward,  of  Durham,  who  is  a  steady 
Methodist — that  the  measure  is,  for  the  present,  at  least,  aban- 
doned. On  the  same  authority,  I  learn  that  a  still  severer  bill, 
threatened  to  be  introduced  by  some  members  of  administra- 
tion, is  also  dropped.  The  Lord  reigneth.  JVli*.  Bradburn  con- 
tinues to  recover  from  his  late  dangerous  indisposition.  I 
heard  his  charity  sermon  on  Easter  Simday;  and,  though  he 
said  many  excellent  thmgs  in  an  excellent  way,  I  did  not  tliink 
that  he  did  justice  either  to  his  OAvn  talents  or  to  his  subject. 
This  is  partly  accounted  for  by  what  I  have  since  learned,  that 
he  preached  m  exquisite  pam,  arising  from  the  gout,  which  had 
then  commenced  its  attack  upon  him.  "We  have  considerable 
prospects  of  success  in  Middleton.  Our  congregations  and  so- 
cieties are  still  on  the  mcrease.  Send  me  all  the  news  you  can. 
To  a  Methodist,  nothing  which  concerns  Methodism  can  be  un- 
interesting." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  the  steward  of  the  Liverpool 
cu-cuit  sought  my  fother's  consent  to  his  bemg  stationed  there 
after  the  ensuing  Conference.  I  give  a  specimen  of  countless 
repUes  to  suuilar  applications. 

"July  17th,  1800. 
"  Deae  Sir, — I  regret  that  various  urgent  engagements  have 
prevented  me  from  returnmg  a  more  early  answer  to  your  obhg- 
ing  letter.  My  best  thanks  are  due  to  the  brethren  at  Livei'- 
pool  for  the  request  they  have  been  pleased  to  address  to  the 
Conference  respectmg  me.  Your  cu-cuit  is,  on  many  accoimts, 
a  most  desirable  one  to  a  yoimg  man,  and  the  only  personal 
objections  I  feel  to  it  arise  from  two  circumstances :  first,  a  fear 

*  "  Sammy"  Hick's  Life  contains  a  lively  narrative  of  the  inten-iews  of 
that  excellent  but  eccentric  man  ^nth  Mr.  Michael  Angelo  Taylor  on  the 
subject  of  this  bill.  My  father  made  a  copious  abstract  of  the  bill  in  his 
own  handwriting. 


114  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

lest  so  inexperienced  a  preacher  as  myself  should  not  be  able  to 
minister  witli  sufficient  acceptance  to  congregations  so  respect- 
able and  intelligent ;  and,  secondly,  the  situation  of  my  mother, 
who  is  a  widow  and  hves  in  Manchester,  and  to  whom  my  oc- 
casional presence  and  assistance  in  the  management  of  her 
family  concerns  will  be  necessary  durmg  the  ensuing  year.  I 
ought  also  to  mform  you  that  the  affectionate  people  among 
whom  I  now  labor  have  petitioned  the  Conference  not  to  re- 
move me  from  my  present  station.  On  the  whole,  however,  I 
cheerfully  submit  myself  to  the  direction  of  Providence  and  to 
the  appomtmeut  of  the  Conference,  earnestly  praying  that  the 
will  of  the  Lord  may  be  done.  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  great  re- 
spect, most  affectionately  yours,  Jabez  Buntixg." 

A  letter  from  Dr.  Percival  to  my  fiither,  and  his  reply  to  it, 
confer  equal  honor  on  both  the  writers : 

"  My  dear  Feiend, — You  are  soon  to  remove  from  Oldham, 
and  in  a  new  situation  may  not  have  what  you  now  enjoy  there 
— a  library  to  considt  for  your  improvement.  Permit  me,  there- 
fore, to  request  your  acceptance  of  the  mclosed  bank-note  for 
the  purchase  of  such  books  as  may  be  peculiarly  interesting  to 
you  in  your  present  theological  piu-suits.  Assure  yourself  of 
my  sincere  and  cordial  concern  for  your  welfare,  and  that  I 
shall  always  rejoice  in  an  opportunity  of  promoting  your  hap- 
piness and  advancement  in  life ;  for  I  am,  with  true  esteem 
and  attachment,  your  most  affectionate  friend, 

"  Tiios.  Pekcival. 
"Friday,  May  1st,  1801." 

"  Saturday  EveninR,  7  o'clock. 
"  My  dear  and  iionoeed  Sir, — I  am  at  a  loss  for  words  to 
c^:>ress  tlie  sense  I  feel,  as  of  your  many  past  favors,  so  espe- 
cially of  tlie  recent  proof  of  your  goodness.  The  letter  with 
whicli  you  have  just  lionored  me,  and  its  very  liberal  inclosure, 
have  made  the  strongest  iinin-essions  of  gratitude  on  my  mind, 
and  it  will  ever  affbrd  me  the  highest  satisfiiction  to  evuico 
tliat  gratitude  by  any  little  offices  of  respect  and  affection 
which  it  shall  be  in  my  power  to  render  to  you  or  your  excel- 
lent fainily.  I  nuich  regret  that,  on  the  present  occasion,  my 
urgent  professional  duties  prevent  me  from  atteudhig  you  as 


PROBATION"  IN  THE   OLDHAM  CIRCUIT.  115 

regularly  as  I  should  wish.  But,  for  the  kind  indulgence  with 
which  you  have  received,  both  now  and  formerly,  my  imperfect 
services,  and  for  the  generous  jjresent  wliich  demands  from  me 
this  note  of  acknowledgment,  acce}3t  the  warmest  thanks  of, 
dear  and  honored  sir,  your  much  obliged  and  ever  affectionate 
humble  servant,  J.  Bu^TrxG." 

During  tliis  year  my  father  formed  a  lastmg  friendship  mth 
the  late  Rev.  William  Black,  then  on  a  visit  to  this  coimtry 
from  the  scene  of  his  arduous  laboi's  in  British  North  America. 
Of  the  now  strong  and  active  Methodism  m  the  eastern  prov- 
inces of  that  unportant  portion  of  the  empire  he  is  justly  re- 
garded as  the  foimder.  While  he  Avas  attending  the  Confer- 
ence in  London,  my  father  wrote  to  him  at  some  length ;  but 
in  this,  as  in  other  cases,  I  quote  but  a  few  sentences. 

"Oldham,  July  30th,  1800. 
"  My  letter  will,  at  least,  be  accepted  as  an  expression  of  that 
warmth  of  Christian  affection  and  esteem  which  I  shall  ever 
feel  toward  you.  Unworthy  as  I  am  of  your  friendship,  I  trust 
that  a  blessed  eternity  will  confirm  and  perfect  the  attachment 
which  my  present  short  acquaintance  with  you  has  inspu-ed, 
and  that,  however  separated  on  earth,  we  shall  together  spend 
an  everlasting  existence.  There  are  few  pomts  of  view  in 
which  heaven  appears  to  me  more  desirable  than  when  it  is 
considered  as  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first- 
bora  ;  the  conunon  home  of  all  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  col- 
lected from  the  east,  from  the  west,  from  the  north,  and  from 
the  south,  made  much  more  excellent  than  they  were,  and 
united  to  each  other  in  the  most  close  and  endearing  intimacy. 
There  to  meet  again  Avith  those  who  were  here  our  companions 
in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus ;  there  to  recommence 
the  mutual  exercises  of  a  pure  and  holy  friendship  with  the  for- 
mer associates  of  our  earthly  pilgrimage;  to  renew  our  ac- 
quamtance  with  some  Miiom  here  we  only  casually  and  tran- 
siently knew ;  and  to  be  for  the  first  time  introduced  to  the  ac- 
quaintance of  others  of  the  Lord's  redeemed,  whom,  perhaps, 
we  never  saw  or  heard  o*f— these  are  ])rospects  of  the  most 
pleasing  and  anuuating  natm-e.  When  I  think  of  them,  I  bless 
the  Father  of  my  spirit  that  ever  I  was  born,  and  rejoice  in  the 


116  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

liopc  of  the  glory  wliicli  sliall  be  revealed.  The  Conference 
lias,  I  suppose,  by  this  time,  made  some  considerable  progress 
in  the  dispatch  of  its  business.  Many  petitions  have  been  of-'^ 
fered  up  to  God  for  Ilis  blessing  on  your  deliberations.  The 
fast-day  on  Monday  was  observed  ui  this  circuit  Avith  much 
solemnity,  and  our  nieetmgs  for  prayer  were  well  attended." 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  his  friend  Heywood  on  August  5th, 
1800,  he  expresses  his  satisfaction  with  his  o^^^l  appointment 
for  a  second  year  to  Oldham,  and  tells  the  news  he  had  re- 
ceived from  Conference.  "  A  law  was  unanimously  passed,  of 
which  I  much  approve,  prohibiting  theatrical  smgers  from  be- 
ing employed  m  our  chapels.  After  a  warm  and  long  debate, 
it  was  determined  by  a  large  majority  to  send,  as  a  tlistinct 
body,  an  address  of  congratulation  to  the  king  on  his  late  es- 
cape from  assassination.  The  speakers  were,  for  it,  Benson, 
Bradburn,  etc. ;  those  againat  it,  Clarke,  Moore,  Rutherford, 
Jenkins,  Bradford,  Gaidtcr,  etc.  The  subjects  of  noisy  meet- 
ings and  female  preachers  were  discussed  at  great  length." 
I  note  how  readily  Benson  had  adapted  himself,  in  the  course 
of  five  years,  to  the  idea  of  "  a  distinct  body." 

"  Brother  Solomon  Ashton,"  another  member  of  the  Young 
Men's  Society,  had  now  been  sent  into  the  Lancaster  Circuit, 
and  wrote  a  long  account  of  his  troubles:  "At  my  first  en- 
trance in  this  circuit  all  seemed  dark ;  no  horse,  no  friend ;  full 
of  reasoning  in  my  own  breast ;  thus  on  foot  I  went."  Then 
he  describes  tlie  ])laces  to  which  his  Aveary  w\alks  were  direct- 
ed, including  Kendal,  Sedbergh,  and  Settle:  eighty-two  miles, 
and  eleven  sermons, the  first  week;  I'orly-tliree  miles,  and  nine 
sermons,  the  second ;  and  iifty-nine  miles,  and  seven  sermons, 
the  third ;  the  fourth  being  principally  spent  in  Lancaster. 
"This  was  my  first  month's  work  on  foot.  The  fatigue  of 
walking  and  talking,  rain  by  day,  dani])  beds  by  night,  ete., 
have  caused  me  to  sufi'er  very  much  in  health.  AVlielher  I 
shall  l)c  able  to  stand  traveling  is  matter  of  doubt.  Through 
grace  I  am  resolved  to  die  in  tlie  Jiarness.''''  "  One  of  oiu* 
Iriends  oflered  the  loan  of  a  young  horse,  but  I  was  not  willing 
to  receive  it  until  it  li:v«l  l)een  in  llie  hands  of  sonu'  breaker. 
It  has  killed  itself.  I  have  now  Itouglit  one."  Every  thing  at 
once  takes  a  happier  turn.    "  Our  congregations  are  very  much 


PROBATION   IN   TUE   OLDHAM   CIllCUIT.  117 

increased ;  our  prospects  brighten ;  we  have  joined  thirty. 
God  is  yet  with  us.     Yoiu's  in  endless  love,"  etc. 

From  Binningham,  early  in  1801,  John  Crook,  the  "apos- 
tle of"  Methodism  in  "  the  Isle  of  Man,"  wrote  to  my  father  a 
pathetic  and  an  affectionate  letter,  relating  his  own  many  in- 
firmities, and  the  impoverished  condition  of  the  people  in  that 
circuit.  "The  society  is  so  poor  here  that  the  steward  has 
^run  m  arrear  with  Mr.  Suter  eight  pounds  for  diet-money  for 
us ;  and  things  are  so  had  that  I  know  not  when  he  can  be 
})aid."  Alexander  Suter  was  the  sujierintendent,  and  the  fa- 
ther of  a  son  bearmg  his  own  name,  whose  subsequent  resi- 
dence in  Hahfax  made  that  town  a  home  to  every  preacher 
that  visited  it,  and  whose  genial  and  hosj)itable  hearth  Avas  a 
centre  of  intelligence  and  hapiiiness. 

Mr.  Gaulter  had  left  the  circuit  at  the  Confei'cnce  of  1800, 
and  was  succeeded  by  James  Rogers,  the  story  of  whose  con- 
version and  call  to  the  ministry  is  related  in  the  volumes  to 
which  I  have  before  alluded.  He  was  a  man  of  great  respect- 
abihty  both  of  talent  and  of  character ;  but  his  health  soon 
broke  down,  though  he  contmued  to  itinerate.  "  Wliat  in- 
jured my  constitution  a  second  time,"  he  narrates,  "was  a 
journey  which  I  took  to  the  Isle  of  Bute  when  I  was  stationed 
at  Edinburgh.  I  was  hard  j^ut  to  it  for  food ;  and,  ha^-ing 
nothing  that  I  could  relish,  I  employed  a  poor  woman  to  gath- 
er for  me  a  kind  of  shell-fish,  about  half  the  size  of  cockles, 
which  was  my  chief  support  mitil  I  was  able  to  return  to  the 
main  land."  He  married  tAvo  saints  in  succession;  and  per- 
haps the  death-bed  of  his  first  wife,  as  recorded  by  himself, 
taught  lessons  as  well  calculated  for  general  use  as  those  con- 
veyed by  the  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Mrs.  Hester  Ann  Rogers," 
which  have  attamed  so  large  a  circidation.  He  was  one  of  the 
few  who  witnessed  the  last  moments  of  "Wesley.  My  father 
again  observed  in  him  the  grave  and  godly  spirit  of  an  old 
Methodist  preacher. 

Mr.  Gaulter  writes  to  his  yomig  friend  early  in  1801  in  a 
very  triiunphant  tone,  stating  that  he  had  received  a  letter 
from  Dr.  Coke,  who  was  then  in  America.  He  says,  "  The 
doctor  brings  strange  things  to  my  ears  :  a  ^Methodist  preach- 
er of  the  name  of  Lyall  (so  his  name  is  spelled  in  the  American 
minutes)  is  chosen  the  chaplain  of  the  Congress.     The  doctor's 


118  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

own  words  arc,  ']>rothcr  Lyall,  one  of  our  ciders,  lias  been 
elected  lately  chaplain  of  the  Congress  by  a  great  majority. 
He  preaches  in  the  Congress  Hall,  in  Washington,  on  Sun- 
days.'* What  a  rise  from  obscurity  to  notice,  from  contempt 
to  honor !  The  good  doctor  is  flushed  with  delight,  and  it  cer- 
tainly forms  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Mctliodism.  Perhaps 
I  may  yet  live  to  see  my  friend  Bunting  a  doctor,  and  chaplain 
to  an  imperial  parhament.  My  i)rayer  shall  ever  be.  Give  us 
not  honor  without  grace.  I  am  happy  to  hear  that  Mr.  Bunt- 
ing appeal's  with  his  accustomed  honor  in  the  pulpit.  We 
have  had  the  Kev.  Miss  Barritt  here;f  and,  as  usual,  a  mighty 
stir  !  and,  consequently,  a  nxmiber  of  professions  of  conversion ; 
and,  as  you  may  believe,  we  are  neither  worse  nor  better  for 
it.  In  one  of  our  country  societies  we  have  a  pleasing  work. 
I  liave  seen  few  such :  all  the  marks  of  the  finger  of  God  arc  in 
it."  Mr.  Gaulter  then  rejoices  "  in  the  financial  revolution  in 
Leeds.  It  was  time  each  preacher's  Avife  had  four  guineas  per 
quarter,  each  child  two  guineas,  each  servant  twelve  guineas" 
(a  year),  "and  the  weekly  allowance  for  every  preacher  eleven 
and  sixpence.  This  many  of  the  people  have  long  desired. 
When  shall  I  see  you  ?  Do  come  over.  I  need  not  say  there 
is  not  a  man  in  England  I  love  so  well." 

My  father  never  regretted  the  two  years  he  spent  in  Old- 
liam.  The  ])cople  were  })laiii,  simj)le,  and  hearty,  and  there 
were  a  few  Methodist  families  of  the  more  intclhgent  class  of 
inhabitants.  The  circuit  then  stretched  over  the  bleak  hills 
and  uito  the  romantic  valleys  which  divide  Lancashire  from 
Yorkshire,  and  both  mountaineers  and  dalesmen  had  a  keen 

*  I  can  not  but  think  of  tlio  name  and  talents  of  anotlicr  Anu'rican  Meth- 
odist minister,  tlic  IJcv.  W.  II.  Miihurn,  tlio  lilind  ciiajilain  to  tlic  American 
ConpresH,  wiiosc  recent  visit  to  this  country  excited  so  prcat  an  interest, 
and  whom  I  had  the  jdeasurc  of  introducinp;  to  my  father. 

t  A  prcadiinR  Lady,  very  famous  in  hor  time,  and  undoubtedly  very  use- 
ful. I  heard  the  late  Rev.  William  Atherton,  that  somewhat  ])eculiar,  but 
thorouj;hly  honest,  kind-hearted  man,  and  very  able  preacher,  deliver  a  fu- 
neral sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  second  Josc])h  Taylor,  of 
whom  more  hereafter.  "God  often  works  by  stranjjc  instruments,"  said 
the  jireacher,  with  all  i)Ossible  solemnity.  "Balaam  was  converted  by  the 
l)rayinK  of  i"  as**)  nnd  Peter  by  the  crowinp  of  a  cock,  and  our  lamented 
i>rother  by  the  preachinp  of  a  woman  one  Good-Friday  morning.'  Tliis 
"woman"  was  Mary  Barritt. 


PROBATION   IN  THE   OLDHAM   CIRCUIT.  119 

relish  for  what  they  thought  a  good  sermon.  They  ■were  very 
proud  of  theu'  young  man ;  and  lie  won  their  affection  also,  not 
only  by  his  exercises  in  the  pulpit,  but  by  his  habitual  serenity 
and  composure,  as  well  as  by  his  amiability  and  diffidence. 
The  circuit,  in  later  years,  lost  much  by  not  attempting  to  gain 
more.  But,  nearly  tifty  years  after  he  left  it,  my  father  had 
the  great  gratification  of  preaching  at  the  re-opening  of  the  old 
chapel,  much  enlarged ;  and  that  effort  lias  created  another,  of 
which  an  additional  chapel  is  the  result.  Wliile  resident  in 
Oldham,  he  preached  six  hundred  and  twenty-eight  times  in 
liis  OAvn  circuit,  and  twenty-two  tunes  out  of  it,  nearly  all  the 
latter  being  charitable  occasions. 

I  have  named  Mr.  George  Burton.  He  was  the  son  of  Daniel 
Burton,  of  Middleton  in  this  circuit,  a  gentleman  of  the  ancient 
Methodist  type,  whose  daughter,  Mary  Burton,  became  the  Avife 
of  my  father's  friend,  James  Wood,  and  was  for  many  years  a 
pattern  of  Christian  excellence  to  ladies  in  superior  station. 
Other  sons  were  James  Daniel  Burton,  who  died  on  his  rapid 
rise  to  popularity  and  usefulness  as  a  Methodist  preacher ;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Burton,  minister  of  All  Saints'  Church,  Manchester ; 
and  Jolm  Burton,  best  knoAATi  as  of  Middleton,  who  waits,  in 
the  cloudless  twihght  of  the  eve  of  life,  for  his  reward,  "  not 
of  debt,  but  of  grace."  His  son,  John  Daniel  Burton,  after 
rendering  many  services  to  Methodism,  received  an  early  rec- 
ompense. To  no  family,  except  to  his  o'sati,  was  my  father 
bound  by  more  affectionate  and  lasting  ties. 


120  TnE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PROBATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  IX  THE  MACCLESFIELD  CIRCUIT. 

Appointment  to  Macclesfield. — Extensive  Circuit. — Difficulties. — Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Allen. — Colleagues. — Jeremiah  Brettcll. — Thomas  Ilutton. — Jo- 
seph Entwislc. — George  Morley. — IMethodism  in  the  manufacturing  Dis- 
tricts.— Correspondence  of  Jabez  Bunting,  George  Marsden,  GmJter,  and 
James  Wood. — Offer  of  an  Incumbency  in  the  Established  Church. — Let- 
ters to  a  Fellow-probationer  and  to  Mr.  Whitaker. — Dr.  McAU. — Farther 
Correspondence  with  Dr.  Disney  Alexander,  liobert  Lomas,  Richard 
Reece,  and  others. — Labors  at  Macclesfield. — Tlioughts  of  IVIarriage. — 
Memoranda  in  reference  to  it. — Engagement. — Sarah  IMaclardic. — Ordi- 
nation.— Discussions  as  to  his  next  Appointment. — "Were  his  Orders 
valid  ? 

By  the  Conference  of  1801  my  father  was  appointed  to  the 
Maccle.'>tiel(l  Circuit,  distant  from  JNIanchcster  about  twenty 
mOes.  Tliis  was  a  very  wide  field  of  action.  Three  weeks 
were  occupied  by  the  usual  round  of  the  itinerant  preachers, 
wliich  embraced  a  considerable  portion  of  tlie  Peak  of  Derby- 
shire, and  of  what  is  now  known  as  tlie  Northern  Division  of 
Cheshire.  Tlie  rides  throu<rli  the  former  district  during  the 
stern  winter  seasons  tried  his  constitution  to  the  utmost.  I 
have  commonly  remarked  that  men  accustomed  to  active  intel- 
lectual exercise  are  habitually  either  of  keen  or  of  very  delicate 
appetite.  My  father  came  Avithin  the  latter  class;  and  the 
rough  dainties  of  the  country,  notwithstanding  the  hearty  wel- 
come which  seasoned  them,  were  often  utterly  rei^ulsive,  and 
still  oftcner,  when  received  in  recii)rocal  kindness,  rather  hurt- 
ful than  nutritious.  Indeed,  he  would  have  perished  of  hunger 
or  of  indigestion  but  for  the  wholesome  bacon,  and  the  thin, 
soft  oat -cake  which  were  the  ordinary  diet  of  the  people ;  and, 
to  the  last,  these  were  among  liis  favorite  luxuries.  But  his 
liealth  sank  under  the  disciplijie;  and  he  used  often  and  grate- 
fully to  declare  that  he  owed  his  life  to  the  affectionate  nursing 
of  Mrs.  Allen,  long  ago  departed.  At  the  house  of  her  husband 
he  Avas  kindly  accommodated,  and  treated  as  a  sf)ii  during  long 
periods  of  time  together.     JM  r.  Allen  w  as  a  hearty  meml)er  and 


PROBATION   m  THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         121 

friend  of  the  society  in  Macclesfield.  Some  years  ago  he  pur- 
chased two  houses  for  permanent  occupation  by  mmisters.  A 
thousand  other  acts  of  kindness  to  the  Clnu'ch,  to  its  ministers, 
and  to  the  poor  of  the  flock  have  embalmed  his  name  and  mem- 
ory. My  father  continued  in  this  circuit  also  for  two  years. 
His  colleagues,  during  the  first,  were  Jeremiah  Brettell  and 
Thomas  Ilutton ;  and  during  the  second,  Joseph  Ent"\\isle  and 
George  Morley. 

Jeee^uah  Brettell  has  been  dead  tliirty  years.  I  remem- 
ber him  a  tall,  thin,  and  ancient-looking  man,  very  neat  in  his 
dress,  and  very  affectionate  in  his  manner.  He  was  born  in 
1753,  and  Avas  brought  to  a  "serious  concern  for  salvation"  by 
the  teacliuig  and  example  of  his  elder  brother,  an  itinerant 
preacher.  After  many  dark  and  discouraging  reasonuigs,  "  I 
remember  one  evening,"  he  says,  in  his  owai  brief  notices  of  his 
life, "  when  the  moon  was  rising  m  her  glory,  musing  uj)on  and 
singing  those  Hues  of  xVddison — 

"  *  Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail, 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale, 
And,  nightly,  to  the  listening  earth, 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth.' 

I  felt  a  sweet  and  heavenly  influence  to  rest  upon  my  mind. 
Suddenly  this  hope  sprang  up — God  loves  me,  after  all  my  wan- 
derings from  Him.  Fear  vanished ;  peace  flowed  into  my  soul ; 
and  I  was  comforted  with  the  con^dction  that  God  loved  me 
through  the  atonement  of  His  Son."  Bradburn  was  stilled  into 
seriousness  by  looking  at  some  decayed  flowers,  and  Brettell 
filled  with  hope  and  peace  as  the  nightly  heavens  revealed  to 
him  God's  changeless  ordinances,  while  Wesley's  "  heart"  was 
"  strangely  warmed"*  into  the  life  of  love  and  hohness  ere  yet 
the  echoes  of  the  anthem  at  St.  Paul's  had  died  away  upon  his 
ears.  Lessons  these  for  all  who  despise  tlie  lieautiful,  and  in- 
sist that  a  religion  rich  in  sympathies  shall  steel  itself  against 
its  owTi  instinctive  yearnings  after  Nature,  and  after  Nature's 
interpreters.  Music  and  the  Arts  !f 

*  Wesley's  "  Journals,"  vol.  i.,  p.  103. 

t  "Monday,  March  29,"  1782,  says  Wesley  (Journals,  vol.  iv.,  p.  223), 
"I  came  to  Macclesfield  just  time  enough  to  assist  Jlr.  Simpson  in  the  la- 
borious sendee  of  the  day.  I  preached  for  him  morning  and  afternoon,  and 
we  administered  the  sacrament  to  about  thirteen  hundred  persons.     While 

VoL.L— F 


122  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

Brett  ell  began  to  "  travel"  in  1774.  Thomas  Mitchell,  a  vet- 
eran itinerant  gave  him  a  friendly  cantion  at  starting.  "I  nn- 
derstand  that  you  ai'e  going  to  travel.  You  will  sometimes  be 
a  gentleman  in  the  morning,  and  a  beggar  at  night."  He  was 
appointed  to  Epworth.  "  Before  I  set  oft*,"  he  says,  "I  bought 
a  horse  npon  credit  of  a  preacher  Avho  was  just  going  to  Amer- 
ica :  fortunately  for  me  the  money  was  never  demanded,  nor 
could  I  ever  leai-n  to  -whom  it  was  due."  Horses  were  the 
standing  temptation  of  those  times.  Brettell  records  many 
conflicts  of  mind,  but  states,  "  My  apprehensions  were  the  stron- 
gest Avhen  my  horse  and  myself  Avere  in  danger  of  sinking  in 
the  bogs  while  crossing  the  fens."  At  the  next  Conference  the 
two  brothers  Avere  sent  to  Ireland.  "After  visiting  my  native 
place,"  the  younger  continues,  "and  taking  leave  of  my  friends, 
we  set  off.  And  now  the  sale  of  my  horse,  Avhich  I  had  upon 
credit,  served  to  bear  my  expenses  to  Ireland,  and  to  procure 
another  there."  In  tAVo  years  he  Avas  thoroughly  tired  out, 
imd  suftered  from  a  nervous  ievcv ;  but  after  six  Aveeks  of  al- 
most perpetual  sleej)  he  began  to  recover,  and  became  again  fit 
for  Avork.  He  Avas  present  at  the  Leeds  Conference  of  1784, 
Avhen  "a  little  dispute  took  place  bctAveen  Mr.  Wesley  and  four 
of  the  preachers.  Mr.  Fletcher  ajipeared  as  a  peacemaker  Avith 
the  preachers  Avho  Avere  to  blame;  he  talked  with  Ihem,  and 
fell  on  his  knees  before  them;  they  were  struck  Avith  his  hu- 
mility and  affection,  and  Avere  melted  doAAm  into  a  spirit  of  rec- 
onciliation. In  1 785  Brettell  Avas  appointed  to  Bristol.  "  Here," 
he  Avrites,  "I  became  more  acquainted  Avith  jMr. Charles  Wes- 
ley, as  he  generally  spent  some  months  in  Bristol  cAcry  summer. 
This  society  Avas,  at  that  time,  I  suppose,  the  most  opulent  in  the 
kingdom.  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  being  of  High-Church  princi- 
ples, did  not  conceive  hoAV  the  good  AVOrk,  begun  in  his  day, 
could  be  carried  on  Avithout  the  guidance  of  jtious  clergymen. 
When  he  met  the  society  he  used  to  exhort  ihem  to  abide  in 
the  Church,  and  ventured  to  say  that,  on  his  death  and  that  of 
his  brother,  the  Methodist  preachers  would  divide ;  some  Avould 

wc  were  iulniinistcring,  I  licard  a  low,  soft,  solemn  sound,  just  like  that  of 
an  TpAjJian  liar]i.  It  continued  five  or  six  minutes,  and  so  affected  many 
that  they  could  not  refrain  from  tears.  It  then  gradually  died  away. 
StranRC  that  no  other  organist  (that  I  know)  sliould  think  of  this."  The 
organis'  on  ibis  occasion  was  my  grandfather,  iEncus  Maclardic. 


PROBATION"   IN  THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIKCUIT.         128 

go  into  the  Church,  and  otliors  settle  as  Dissenting  ministers ; 
but  the  people  must  abide  in  the  Church,  and  they  would  get 
safe  to  land.  He  did  not  know  the  piety  and  stability  of  the 
preachers  so  well  as  his  brother  did.  When  I  heard  him  ad- 
dress the  society  thus,  I  thought  the  people  could  not  love  us, 
and  felt  somewhat  discouraged.  I  had  left  a  Uvely,  affectionate 
people  in  the  North,  and  thought  the  society  in  Bristol,  hearing 
these  reflections  upon  the  preachers,  must  be  very  different.  I 
mentioned  this  to  my  colleagues,  and  they  told  me  that  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  had  been  long  accustomed  to  speak  in  this  man- 
ner, and  that  few  or  none  took  any  notice  of  it.  But  his  re- 
marks, no  doubt,  laid  the  foundation,  in  some  degree,  for  that 
partial  separation  which  took  place  in  Bristol  a  few  years  after, 
when  some  alterations  became  necessary  on  the  death  of  his 
brother." 

I  must  leave  the  Arminian  Magazine  for  1789  to  tell  how 
Mr.  Easterbrook,*  Vicar  of  the  Temple  Church,  Bristol,  to- 
gether with  BretteU  and  five  other  vahant  Methodist  preachers 
(two  vicars  and  the  precentor  of  the  Cathedral  declining  the 
contest),  encomitered  and  defeated  divers  evil  spirits,  male  and 
female,  which  had  possessed  themselves  of  the  body  of  one 
George  Lukins.  St,  Ambrose  must  have  labored  under  some 
mistake  when  he  asserted  that  souls  have  no  sexes. 

In  1793  BretteU  was  stationed  with  Benson  in  Manchester. 
"  The  good  work  prospered  much  under  that  man  of  God,  Mr. 
Benson.  Many  souls  were  awakened,  and  brouglit  strongly  to 
knoAv  and  love  God.  At  one  time,  in  particular,  when  at  the 
Salford"  (now  called  the  Gravel  Lane)  "  Chapel,  an  uncommon 
unction  attended  the  prayer  after  the  sermon.  He  was  led  to 
plead  with  God  that  every  soul  in  that  place  might  be  saved, 
and  I  believe  e-sery  one  present  was  deeply  affected  under  the 
influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit," 

Those  who  wish  to  know  his  thoughts  at  the  termination  of 
his  next  appointment  may  read  them  in  a  note.  They  are 
those  of  a  Methodist  preacher  of  the  old  school. f     In  1801  he 

*  The  only  clerpj-nian  nf  whom  I  ever  heard  who  had  jircached  in  every 
house  in  his  parish.  It  was  very  extensive,  but  he  aeeomplished  the  work 
in  two  }'ears. 

t  "We  had  considerable  trials  from  those  who  were  degenerated  bv  Jac- 
obinical politics,  and  zeal  for  a  new  system  of  religious  government,  and 


124  THE    LIKE   OF  JAHEZ   JUNTINC 

ii'tireil  from  very  active  service,  l)iit  for  ei<;litc(ii  years  more 
he  filled  wi-ll  the  jteciiliar  sphere  of  usefulness  open  to  a  sujter- 
mmierary  minister;  the  kind  l)ut  inotlicious  counselor  of  his 
sous  in  the  CJosj)el ;  the  friend  and  visitor  of  the  people,  espe- 
cially of  those  like  himself,  on  the  near  look-out  for  heaven; 
an  occasional  and  always  willinix  preacher;  and  a  jtattern  of 
mature  and  peai-eful  LTodliness.  Joseph  Kntwisle  visited  him 
in  his  last  days,  and  mentitms  two  short  sayinirs,  each  weighty 
with  great  thoughts:  "I  am  on  the  Foundation."  "All  is 
peace  within." 

liut  I  must  now  s])eak  very  briefly  of  liim  who  wrote  this 
record.  .Vml  who  that  ever  saw  that  beautiful  face — a  face 
more  angelic  than  even  that  of  Fletcher,  as  conveying  no  idea 
of  a  ]»ainful  intensity  of  feeling — who  that  looks  at  it  now,  in 
the  faithful  portrait  prefixed  to  the  admiral>le  Memoir  by  his 
son,*  can  forget  Joski-ii  Entwislk? 

He  w.as  born  in  Manchester,  of  parents  who  regularly  at- 
tendeil  l>r.  Harnes's  ministry,  and  served  his  apprenticeshij)  to 
Mr.  Charles  Wood,  the  founder  of  the  family  of  tliat  name 
which,  five-and-twenty  years  ago,  gave  two  members  to  the 
Legishituri",  and  himself  a  zealous  Methodist.  .lolni  Taylor, 
the  foreman  of  the  business,  was  the  chief  means  of  the  young 
apprentice's  connection   with  the   Methodists.     Mr.  Kntwisle 

felt  tlie  unplcasnnt  i-ffoots  of  tlioir  opposition  in  viirious  places.  I  otwon-cil 
that  |H.Tsuns  of  irrc;;iilar  conduct,  und  honu*  that  Imd  hccn  excluded  from 
the  society,  bccimiu  the  uctivc  apj-nts  of  tiiis  now  system  of  opjiosition. 
Every  effort  was  made,  by  pum])hlets  and  niisrepresentations,  to  aliennto 
the  prcarhent  and  |«'()|>lc  from  earh  other.  Hut,  not  Ixinp  al»le  to  chanjjo 
ih'"  povernment  of  the  Metlmdist  Ixniy,  all  wiio  aduptod  the  new  M>tem  WKin 
left  u».  I  have  ol»»cr\-ed  tliat  divisions  have  occurred  from  the  hepinning 
among  the  Methodist  ho<ietJe((,  as  in  all  other  eliurchen,  but  they  have  gen- 
erally l»cen  overrided  fur  p(K)d  to  the  body  at  larpe.  They  have  often  cniucd 
litipiiiai  and  unruly  iM-rnon!i  to  Mepurate  thc-mHelve-i,  when  the  lenient  disci- 
plitic  of  the  Ixxly  could  not  easily  have  eflertetl  ^o  denirable  an  object. 
NevcrthelciiH,  diviiitunR  in  ('hri»tian  HocieticH  are,  in  themselves,  a  sore  evil, 
an<I  a  woe  w  denounced  apain>>t  those  who  make  them.  If  persons  arc  not 
^ali-tficil,  they  should  quietly  withdraw  ;  and  if  they  can  preaeh  or  hear  n 
purer  doctrine,  and  cBtablish  iM'ttcr  rules,  and  walk  by  them,  they  will  have 
the  Divine  sancti<m  ;  if  n<it,  they  will  na  certainly  wither  away.  We  ]>nssed 
tbrouph  thesf?  troubles  with  many  painful  f<'elinpi.  but  with  the  afTcctiunato 
DupiKirt  of  ■  pious  and  established  people  in  Sto«k|K)rt." 
•  Sec'ind  edition  ;    L<mdon  :  John  Mason,  IH.^I. 


PHOHATIOX    IN   THE    MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT,  125 

preached  his  tirst  sermon  before  lie  was  sixteen  years  of  age, 
aiul  his  last  more  than  fifty-eight  years  afterward.  Perlect 
models  an;  rare;  but,  to  those  of  his  own  type  of  character,  he 
may  safely  be  i)resented  as  the  pattern  of  a  judicious,  serene, 
cheerful,  and  consistent  Christian,  and  of  a  jtaius-taking  and 
useful  minister,  liut  I  should  greatly  wrong  the  reader  of 
these  volumes  if  any  fartlfer  description  of  this  eminent  man 
should  prevent  the  perusal  of  one  of  the  best  pieces  of  ]\Ietliod- 
ist  biograjihy — I  si»eak  my  fathers  judgment — which  a  Church 
rich  in  the  lives  of  true  saints  has  ])roduced. 

In  his  Journal  of  the  24th  of  October,  1800,  Mr.  Entwisle 
writes,  "Rode  over  the  dreary  mountams  to  Oldham,  and 
dhied  there  with  ]\Ir.  Rogers.  There  I  met  -svith  'Mi:  Jabe/. 
Bunting,  a  townsman  of  mine.  lie  left  great  prospects  in  the 
world,  in  the  medical  profession,  to  become  a  traveling  preachei'. 
He  is  going  on  his  second  year,  is  about  twenty-one,  is  eminent 
for  good  sense,  piety,  and  ministerial  gifts,  and  promises  great 
usefuhiess.     Glory  be  to  God !" 

The  acquaintance  thus  commenced  ripened  into  a  long  and 
happy  friendship  ;  and  we  shall  see  that,  thirty-four  years  after 
the  meeting  at  Oldham,  Jabez  Bunting's  cautious  judgment 
selected  Entwisle  as  the  very  best  person  the  connection  could 
supply  to  be  the  first  governor  and  i)astor  of  the  Wcsleyan 
Theological  Institution. 

I  must  speak  still  more  briefly  of  George  Moni.EV.  His 
biographer — and  he  deserves  one — will  one  day  describe,  in 
detail,  liis  dignified  courtesy  of  manner,  clear  and  vigorous 
miderstanding,  large  and  various  knowledge,  and  continuous 
and  regular  attention  to  ail  departments  of  ministerial  dutv- 
My  father  always  honored  him  as  the  founder  of  the  first  Wcs- 
leyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society.  At  an  eventful  crisis,  it 
was  he  who  spoke  the  word  wliich,  ere  long,  planted  a  thousand 
cluurhes,  and  civilized  whole  tribes  ajid  nations  of  mankind.* 

*  Mr.  Morlcy  orpanizctl  the  Leeds  District  for  missionnrv  objects,  and  so 
oripin.-ited  our  present  s}-stcniatic  connectional  cflort.-!.  But  simultanenuslv. 
if  not  l)eforc  tlic  preat  meetinp  at  Leeds,  monevs  were  raised  for  the  Metli- 
odist  Missions  by  a  societ}-  formed  for  the  purpose  in  Bimiinphani.  Tin; 
founder  of  it  was  the  Rev.  Jolin  F.  England,  now  of  Ilolsworthy,  Devon, 
who,  havinp  done  this  preat  service  to  Christ's  canse,.  afterward  labored 
faitlifully  as  a  Missionary  in  India.  lie  writes,  "  I  had  for  some  time  sub- 
scribed to  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  but  it  stnick  me  as  desirable  to 


126         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

Thomas  Hutton,  my  father's  remaining  colleague  in  the  Mac- 
clesfield Circuit,  and  always  remembered  hy  him  with  great 
aifoction,  must  be  passed  over  here  Avith  such  notice  only  as 
might  be  given  of  Metliodist  preachers  generally  of  every  race. 
With  gifts  and  graces  carefully  improved,  they  labor  hard  and 
long ;  they  "  turn  many  to  righteousness ;"  they  die  well ;  and 
they  "  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,"  and  "  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

My  father,  when  at  Oldham,  had  dreaded  even  an  occasional 
exchange,  which  should  lead  to  his  occupymg  the  Macclesfield 
pulpit.  There  was  as  much  reason  for  this  fear  as  any  muiis- 
ter  need  ever  entertain.  Macclesfield,  like  Manchester  and  oth- 
er tOAATis  in  that  district,  was  then  rising  rapidly  into  import- 
ance as  a  great  seat  of  industry,  and,  during  tlie  latter  half  of 
the  last  century,  Methodism  seized  as  its  own,  though  not  Avith 
a  selfish  exclusiveness,  the  places  where  men  gathered  thickly 
too-ether.  The  historians  of  our  country  have  failed  to  teU 
how  Methodism,  Avith  its  sim})le  agencies  for  the  conversion  of 
the  common  people,  attended  upon  the  rise  of  the  manufactm*- 
ing  system,  and,  in  the  dearth  or  famine  of  all  other  provision, 
made  safe  and  beneficial  the  vast  and  sudden  increase  of  the 
population  and  of  its  means  of  wealth.  It  happened  according- 
ly that,  in  such  toAvns,  many  Avcre  Methodists  Avho  had  been 
borne  to  affluence  on  the  advancing  Avave  of  commercial  pros- 
perity. At  Macclesfield  in  particular,  tlie  Daintrys,  the  Ryles, 
and  families  of  like  consideration — of  the  generations  immedi- 
ately succeeding  those  AA'hich  founded  their  fortunes — Avere 
among  the  most  iutclligent  attendants  at  the  Chapel.  I  have 
mentioned  one  name  Avliich,  no  longer  represented  Avithin  our 
OAvn  conmiunion,  nobly  sustains,  in  tlie  Church  of  England,  tlie 
Methodist  reputation  for  zeal,  iidelity,  and  success. 

I  can  glance  but  hastily  at  the  correspondence  of  this  period. 

Soon  after  my  fatlier's  entrance  into  the  circuit,  he  Avrote  to 
turn  my  mite  into  a  Wcslcyan  channel.  Nothing  of  tlic  kind  existed  in 
BirminRhiim.  Then  why  not  originate  one  for  ourselves  ?  The  idea 
warmed  in  my  mind  ;  I  broupht  it  before  a  circle  of  fine  yonng  men ;  tliey 
entered  iieartily  into  the  scheme;  and  wc  began."  These  contributions 
were  forwarded  to  the  Conference  of  1814,  with  a  letter  signed  "John 
Yeates,  AVllliam  Drowley,  C.  Holt,  Treasurers;  J.  F.  England,  J.  Hard- 
man,  Collectors;  Thomas  Morgan,  {Samuel  llecley,  William  Ilarcourt, 
Scrretnrics." 


PROBATION"   IX   THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         127 

Mr.  Marsclen,  then  stationed  in  Manchester.  After  telling  of 
some  local  strifes,  the  writer  proceeds :  "  What  a  strange  Avorld 
we  live  in !  and  the  Church  of  Christ  itself,  in  its  present  state, 
abounds  with  occasions  of  trial  and  vexation,  from  which  there 
is  no  adequate  refuge  but  in  the  sanctuary  of  God.  The  per- 
sonal enjoyments  of  vital  religion,  and  a  close  private  walk  with- 
God,  are  the  only  certam  sources  of  pure  and  lasting  pleasm-e. 
Happy  shall  we  be  if  the  tumults  of  the  world,  and  the  various 
agitations  and  perplexities  of  the  Church,  effectually  teach  us 
this  lesson,  and  lead  us  to  seek  our  all  of  happiness  in  Ilini  Avho 
is  our  shelter  from  the  tempest  and  our  covert  from  the  storm." 

A  pleasant  letter  from  Mr.  Gaulter  relates  the  story  of  a  visit 
to  the  former  circuit,  Oldham.  " is,  as  usual,  busy  in  do- 
ing nothing,  but  washing  his  hands  in  innocency."  "  Do  not 
be  too  anxious  about  your  success.  The  Avork  needs  you,  and 
I  Imow  your  health  will  not  permit  excessive  labor.  Take  care 
of  the  damp  in  the  mountainous  parts  of  your  circuit,  particu- 
larly of  the  beds.     I  hope  God  will  keep  you." 

To  Mr.  Wood  my  flither  writes  on  December  11th,  1801 :  "  I 
need  not,  I  trust,  assure  you  that  I  account  your  acquaintance 
and  intimacy  to  be  one  of  those  mercies  which  the  God  of  mer- 
cy has  poured  upon  me  in  such  rich  abundance,  and  for  which 
I  shaU  forever  bless  Him.  I  think,  and  am  sure,  that  hitherto 
our  friendship  has  been  mutually  profitable  to  us  in  the  best 
thmgs ;  but  let  us  labor  that  it  may  become  more  and  more  so. 
Do  you  regularly  and  fervently  pray  for  me  ?  This  is  an  office 
of  brotherly  affisction  which  I  never — no,  never — ^needed  more 
than  now.  I  can  with  truth  affirm  that,  when  it  is  well  with 
me,  I  remember  you ;  and,  indeed,  you  are  never  forgotten  by 
me.  With  respect  to  our  heavenly  Friend,  I  think  I  am  begin- 
ning to  love  Him  more,  and  I  do  wish  to  serve  Him  better.  My 
mind  has  certainly  been  much  quickened  in  its  spmtual  pur- 
suits since  I  came  into  tliis  circuit.  There  was,  I  confess  with 
shame,  much  need  of  a  revival  of  personal  rehgion  m  me,  for  I 
feel  that  no  dihgence  in  study,  no  ministerial  acceptance  or  suc- 
cess, no  increase  in  knowledge,  will  compensate  for  the  absence 
of  the  power  of  godliness.  I  have  been  preaching  to-night  on 
Phil.,  iv.,  19,  but  have  never  had  so  dull  and  coinfortless  a  time 
since  I  came  hither.  Perhaps  this  is  to  mortify  my  selfish  de- 
pendencies, and  to  teacli  me  that  only  '  the  Spirit  giveth  life.' 


128  THE    LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

However,  I  l>ave  learned  to  distinguisli  between  the  personal 
comfort  with  which  my  ministrations  are  peribrmcd  and  their 
usefiihiess  to  my  hearers.  There  is  often,  I  beUeve,  nuich  of 
the  latter,  where  there  is  bnt  little  of  the  former." 

The  Yomig  INIen's  Society  in  ^Manchester  appears  to  have 
been  partially  revived  early  in  1802.  ]Mr.  Wood  Avrites  to  my 
father,  "  We  had  our  meethig  yesterday  morning,  when  our  old 
subject  was  resmned.  Mr.  K.  L."  (Robert  Lomas,  then  a  min- 
ister in  the  Manchester  Circuit)  "  Avas  our  president.  He  is 
truly  a  great  acquisition  to  our  meeting;  the  more  I  know  of 
him,  the  more  I  am  convinced  he  is  a  great  and  good  man." 
This  "  old  subject"  was  discussed  in  a  paper  which  I  place  in 
the  Appendix  ;*  the  rather  so,  because  it  is  one  of  the  few  spec- 
imens preserved  of  Mr.  Lomas's  poAvers  as  a  logician  and  as  a 
divine. 

The  neit  letter  in  the  series,  written  by  my  father  to  Mr. 
Wood,  contains  the  followmg  paragraph :  "  I  have  lately  had 
much  of  ]Mr.  Ilorue'sf  company,  and,  as  my  knowledge  of  liim 
becomes  more  intuuate,  my  esteem  and  affection  for  him  pro- 
portionably  hicrease.  He  has  various  cccentrieilies  ;  but  he  is, 
after  all,  in  my  opuiion,  a  man  often  thousand.  I  Avish  he  Avere 
a  Methodist  preacher,  and  he,  in  return,  Avishes  me  (Avould  you 
believe  it  Y)  a  clergyman.  See  hoAV  Ave  differ !  AVe  have  had 
some  long  and  interesting  conversations  on  this  point.  I  Avill 
tell  you  all  particulars  Avhen  avc  meet.  I  Avrite  this  in  confi- 
dence." 

These  "  long  and  interesting  conversations"  took  a  practical 
form,  and,  in  course  of  time,  the  incmnbency  of  a  large  Church 
in  Maccleslield  Avas  offered  to  my  father,  with  the  promise  that 
episcopal  orders  should  be  ])rocured  for  him. 

He  promptly  rejected  all  such  overtures.  Not  that  his  con- 
Bcience  Avould,  mider  all  conceivable  circumstances,  have  pre- 
vented his  embracing  them.     He  must  have  hesitated  long,  in- 

*  See  Appendix  II,  nt  the  end  of  this  vohinie. 

t  The  Kev.  Melville  Home,  then  incumhent,  in  siiceession  to  David  Simp- 
son, of  Christ  Chnrch,  Macelesfield.  In  early  life  he  had  been  an  itinerant 
Methodist  prcaelier,  a  curate  with  Fleteher  of  Madeley,  and  a  chai.Iain  at 
Sierra  Ix;one.  lie  was  an  elocjuent  advocate  of  the  Chiinh  Missionary  So- 
ciety about  the  time  of  its  formation.  Some  notices  of  him,  which  need  not 
now  be  read  in  the  controversial  sjiirit  in  wldch,  very  properly,  they  were 
written,  arc  to  be  found  in  the  "Methodist  Mogazinc"  for  1810. 


PROBATION  IN   THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         129 

deed,  before  he  declared  an  entire  approval  of  the  language  of 
some  of  the  offices  contamed  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
especially  if  he  had  regarded  them  as  tests  of  opinion,  and  not 
simply  as  foi'nudaries  of  devotion,  necessarily  unsystematic,  and 
always  capable  of  being  corrected,  explained,  and  harmonized 
by  fixed  standards  of  belief*  The  truth  was  that,  in  respect 
of  usefuhiess,  he  must  have  lost  more  than  he  could  have  possi- 
bly gained  by  conformity ;  and  there  were  ties  of  honor,  grati- 
tude, and  aftection  wliich  held  him  firmly  to  the  Church  to 
which  his  parents  belonged.  Trained  under  its  influence,  and 
an  intelligent  believer  in  the  truth  and  purity  of  its  system,  he 
never  saw  any  reason  for  change.  Nor  was  he  forgetful  of  the 
lessons  which  the  history  of  the  connection  taught  him.  A  re- 
cent writerf  has  shown— I  think  conclusively,  and  to  the  silenc- 
ing as  well  of  regretfid  Churchmen  as  of  complainers  within 
our  own  borders — that  the  separation  of  a  society  such  as  that 
of  the  Methodists  from  the  commimion  of  any  estabUshment  in 
which  it  may  take  rise  is  a  matter  of  necessity,  even  Avhere  it  is 
not  a  matter  of  choice.  But,  three  quarters  of  a  centmy  ago, 
the  Church  of  England,  it  must  be  admitted,  put  down  Meth- 
odism, or  tried  to  do  so,  Avith  a  hearty  good-will.  Beaten  open- 
ly, imcondemned,  the  new  sect  was  thrust,  not  into  prison  (the 
age  provided  none  for  such  oftenders),  but  out  of  the  pale  of 
ecclesiastical  citizenship  ;  and  there,  where  he  found  himself,  my 
father  was  content  to  stay,  if  with  no  feeling  of  resentment,  yet 
with  no  desire  to  return.  K  privilege  and  position  Mere  lost, 
liberty  M-as  Avon ;  and,  having  been  born  free,  he  chose  it  rath- 
er. What  a  parish  is  the  world  !  As  to  Eiiiscopacy,  I  believe 
my  father  rejoiced  just  as  much  to  see  it  prevail  among  the 
Methodists  of  America  as  he  would  have  deplored  any  effort  to 
introduce  it  among  those  in  England.  When  its  exclusive 
claim,  as  preferred  l)y  some  members  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
was  urged  upon  him,  he  examined  it  once  for  all,  and  dismissed 

*  I  do  not  think  that  he  would  have  felt  less  hesitation  if  he  had  been  re- 
quired formally  to  profess  his  assent  to  all  and  every  thinp:  contained  in  the 
ser\-ice-book  published  by  John  Wesley.  He  strongly  condemned  the  abbre- 
viation of  the  Psalms,  and  he  repudiated,  as  utterly  unscriptural,  the  prin- 
ciple on  which  it  wns  vindicated.  Like  Adam  Clarke,  he  always  preferred 
to  use  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  rather  than  the  abridgment  of  it  some- 
times used  in  oiu-  Sundav- morning  worship.  t  ^Ir.  Colqnhoun. 

F2 


130  TIIK    1,1  FIO    OF  .lAlJKZ    UrNTlNn. 

it.  It  ncvoT  raisf*l  his  aiiiirr  nor  galled  his  ]>iiile.  When  he 
saw  whole  annios  turn  out  to  meet  its  rn_ir_u't'<l  rciriincnt  of  as- 
sertions on  oni'  ]v<s,  and  ot' assuin|)tions  with  one  cyr,  ho  hard- 
ly knew  whcllu'r  tlu'  ral)l»U'  or  the  soldiery  disturhed  him  more, 
liotli  l)l<H-ked  up  the  streets  ami  sto]iiKMl  traile.  Why  nut  have 
sent  for  a  jxtlieenian  to  (juiet  the  nioh  ? 

To  a  youni;  tVieml  in  the  ministry  he  wrote  durinjjf  this  peri- 
od, "  I  thank  you  for  the  information  your  letter  affords  nie 

concerninLj  the Circuits,  ete.     Such  intelliufenee  can  not 

but  be  interesting  to  me  as  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  may  be 
useful.  Your  hints  about  the  talents  of  several  of  your  neigh- 
bors in  the  ministry  are  also  acceptable.  I  wish  to  become  as 
ixenerally  and  ai-curately  acfpiainted  as  I  can  Avith  the  ])rcaeh- 

ers  and  circuits  in  our  connection.     's  lli;,dits  of  imai;ina- 

lion  are  truly  ludicrous ;  and,  indeed,  I  think  that,  in  general, 
the  fewer  excursions  we  make  into  the  regions  of  metaphor  and 
allegory,  the  better  it  will  be.  Plain  sense,  exprcssid  in  plain 
words,  witlKMit  any  show  of  learning,  or  allectation  of  rhetori- 
cal brilliancy,  is  most  likely  to  be  of  ultimate  use  to  our  hear- 
ers,    (^tlier  things  may  dazzle,  but  they  seldom  ilhnninate  or 

sanctify I  see  there  must  l)e  some  cf)rner  of  our  letters 

appropriated  to  matrimonial  hints  and  explanations.  Notwith- 
standing yom-  hint  ;ibout  the  union  ofjiiety  and  monev,' I 
havi'  some  doubts  whether  the  latter  be  so  essential,  or  even  so 
desirable  as  you  seem  to  supi)0se.  In  your  case,  at  all  events, 
it  is  not  either  essential  or  of  prime  importance,  as  you  will 
have  jirivate  iiu-ome  enough,  in  aid  of  yoin-  rc-ceipts  from  the 
connection,  to  make  you  comfortable  any  where,  'rhereforo, 
unless,  not  content  with  competency,  you  are  mad  :ifter  wealth, 
which  (iod  forbid,  you  can  not  do  lutltr  than  ilirect  your  at- 
tention to  our  amiable  friend.  Miss ,  supposing  that  you 

approve  of  her  in  all  other  respects.  As  to  myself,  all  your  wit 
is  foimtled  on  a  mistake.  I  did  not  say,  at  least  I  could  not 
nie.in  to  say,  that  the  chains  arc  not  yet  forged  that  nw  toltind 
me,  but  that  none  arc  forged  which  have  notually  boiujd  mo 
at  ])resent ;  besides,  it  is  not  accinate  to  speak  of  A\ives  as 
chains," 

To  -Air.  Woo(l  my  father  writes  again:  "  T*r:iy  for  me.  I 
necrl  much  help  from  (lod.  I  never  in  my  life  felt  so  much  as 
now  niy  absolute  dependence  upon  his  favor,  smd  the  nothing- 


PROn.VTIOX   IN   THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         131 

ness  of  every  created  ^ood  in  the  absence  of  the  Creator.  1 
trust  I  am  making  some  progress  in  Christ's  school.  I  wish 
to  submit  to  all  His  disci[iline  and  to  learn  all  His  lessons.  My 
Joys  are  now  seldom  rapturous,  but  they  increase  in  solidity 
ami  steadiness.     At  all  events,  this  God  shall  be  my  God." 

To  the  same  friend,  recently  married  to  Miss  lim-ton,  he 
says:  "The  cares  of  life  arc  apt  to  divert  the  attention  from 
the  care  of  the  soul,  and  outward  comforts,  such  as  Providence 
has  granted  to  y»)u,  too  frequently  allure  the  j)OSsessors  of  them 
from  God.  I  trust  this  Avill  not  be  the  case  Avith  you.  I  i)ray 
that  it  may  not ;  and,  as  I  am  never  likely  to  1)e  able,  in  any 
other  way,  to  testify  my  grateful  sense  of  the  obligations  under 
which  your  friendship  has  placed  me,  I  will  endeavor  to  do  it 
by  acting  toward  you  the  part  of  a  faithful  friend,  if  I  should 
ever  have  the  pain  to  see  you,  while  busied  about  many  things, 
grow  Aveary  and  faint  in  your  mind  concerning  the  one  thing 
needful.  I  entreat  you  to  perfonii  the  same  brotherly  office 
toward  me,  and  to  watch  over  me  in  love." 

Soon  afterward  Mr.  Gaulter  discusses  eonnectional  })olitics 
with  him.  "  Now  for  biennial  Conferences.  1.  Annual  Con- 
ferences must  be  held  in  the  Methodist  connection  so  long  as 
the  deeds  of  our  preaching-houses  are  of  any  value.  They  rec- 
ognize an  authority  to  ai)point  mini>;ters  only  by  Conferences 
lield  annually.  This  is  a  legal  objection,  which  no  nuui  in  the 
connection  can  answer.  2.  So  soon  as  the  report  of  a  change, 
which  so  materially  aftects  the  itineraint  ])lan,  shall  be  circula- 
ted, we  may  exi)ect  discontent,  ])amphlets,  and  the  return  of 
confusion,  which  may  give  occasion  to  some  fat-tious  dema- 
gogue to  promote  another  division.  3.  A  change  in  some  sta- 
tions mu5t  take  jilace  every  year.  AVho  must  direct  them? 
The  chairman,  or  the  whole  district  'i  If  the  whole,  how  many 
meetings  must  we  have  in  the  year  ?  4.  Our  Conferences  are, 
in  the  hands  of  God,  tlie  means  of  brotherly  imion.  5.  Bien- 
nial Conferences  will  call  such  a  munber  of  the  ])reachers  to- 
gether that  the  expense  will  nearly  equal  Annual  Conferences."' 

I  insert  the  next  letter  at  length  ;  it  is  address.ed  to  Mr.  John 
Whitaker,  an  attendant  at  tlie  Methodist  Chapel,  and  the  fa- 
ther-in-law of  tlie  late  Kev.  Dr.  M'All,  of  ^Manchester  :* 

*  Between  whom  .nnd  my  father  an  intimacy  existed,  which  was  founded 
upon  tlieir  mutual  recognition  of  i-ignal  excellences.     The  young  Independ- 


132  THE  LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

"Macclesfield,  SatuiJay  Eveninp,  8  o'clock. 

"  Dear  Sir, — On  calling  at  Mr.  Allen's  this  evening,  I  found 
a  parcel  direct cd  to  nie,  which,  I  am  informed,  comes  from  you. 
The  ins])ection  of  its  contents  occasions  no  small  surprise. 
With  so  generous  a  donation  (if,  indeed,  I  am  right  in  suj»pos- 
ing  that  it  is  designed  as  a  donation)  1  never  before  was  hon- 
ored, and  I  feel  that  I  ought  not  to  lose  a  moment's  time  in 
thankfully  acknowledging  this  ex}>ression  of  your  esteem. 

"As  a  Methodist  preacher,  I  consider  myself  to  be  emphat- 
ically a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  upon  the  earth,  and  liave  buried 
all  hopes  and  all  desires  of  worldly  prosperity.  My  wants  are 
few  and  simple,  and  I  am  at  present  happy  in  serving  a  peoj)le 
whose  regular  and  ordinary  provision  comfortably  supj^lies 
them.  I  can,  therefore,  with  truth  declare  that  such  instances 
of  private  liberality  as  that  which  I  have  this  night  received 
are,  on  my  part,  wholly  imsought  and  miexpected.  Your  pres- 
ent is  not,  however,  on  that  account,  the  less  acceptable.  Val- 
uable as  it  is  in  itself,  its  value  is  greatly  increased  in  my  esti- 
mation, as  it  strongly  assures  me  of  your  Christian  respect  and 
friendshij). 

"  On  such  occasions  as  the  present,  I  am  most  dcej)ly  im- 
pressed with  gratitude  to  God  and  to  my  friends,  and  most 
sincerely  ashamed  of  myself,  that  I  so  little  deserve  and  so  in- 
adequately repay  the  kuidness  I  experience.  May  the  recollec- 
tion of  that  kindness  excite  and  animate  my  hiunble  endeavors 
to  be  better  and  to  do  better  in  future !  May  it  more  and  more 
endear  to  my  heart  a  service  which  hitherto  I  have  found  '  j)rof- 
itable  to  all  things!'  And  may  He  for  whose  sake  I  know  it 
is  that  such  friendly  attentions  are  bestowed  on  me,  condescend 
to  acknowledge  and  reward  them ! 

cnt  minister  at  IMaccl'sfuld  had  hoard  of  tlie  rejiutation  of  the  youiip  Meth- 
odist minister  wlio  had  fornu-riy  labored  there,  and  when,  afterward,  the 
two  resided  at  the  same  time  in  Manchester,  an  introduction  soon  took 
I<Iace.  My  father  often  crept  into  a  corner  of  the  e!ia|)el  where  his  friend 
ofliciatcd,  and  heard  sermons  which,  in  hrilliancy  and  friritient  hreadth  of 
thoii;;ht,  and  in  uniform  fascination  of  voice  and  of  manner,  have  seldom 
been  surpassed.  M'All  hail  a  morhiil  horror  of  these  visits,  and,  if  he  dis- 
cerned the  dreaded  ])rescnce,  woidd  show  si^ns  of  confusion  and  distress. 
His  wa.s  a  rare  modesty,  lie  aimed  at  a  standard  which  no  man  couKI  at- 
tain, and  was  asliamcd,  not  of  the  faiii!rf>.  but  of  tlic  attempt.  My  father's 
nffeetionate  tiibutc  to  Ilia  memory  will  bo  found  in  his  Biography  by  the  late 
Dr.  Wardlaw. 


PROBATION'   IN   THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         133 

"I  judge  from  the  handwriting  of  the  du-ection,  and  from 
other  circumstances,  that  to  you  also  I  am  indebted  for  another 
kind  present  which  was  sent  to  me  a  week  ago,  and  for  Avhicli 
I  intended  to  take  the  tirst  opportunity  of  returning,  in  person, 
my  best  tlianks. 

"  You  will  pardon  me  for  saying  so  much  on  this  snbject ;  I 
can  scarcely  pardon  myself  for  saying  so  little.  But  I  feel  sen- 
timents which  I  am  at  a  loss  how  to  express,  and  will,  there- 
fore, conclude  my  letter.  Believe  me  when  I  add  that  it  has 
been  dictated  by  the  full  and  grateful  heart  of,  dear  sir,  your 
obliged  and  aifectiouate  friend  and  servant,       J.  Buntixg."^ 

I  quote  again  from  a  letter  to  Mr.  AVood :  "  Mr,  Recce  spent 
a  night  with  us  on  his  way  to  Manchester.  He  preached  for 
me  on, '  Unto  you,'  etc., '  shall  the  Sim  of  Righteousness  arise,' 
etc.  The  sermon  was  not  one  of  his  best,  yet  only  a  good 
preacher  could  have  delivered  it.  I  think  with  you  that  he  is 
much  improved  by  the  fire  and  vehemence  he  has  -caught  from 
BraniAvell ;  and  I  like  it  the  better  in  him,  because  he  has  too 
much  good  sense  to  become  a  servile  imitator.  My  dear  friend, 
suffer  even  from  me  the  word  of  exhortation.  Walk  humbly 
and  closely  with  God ;  and  let  it  be  your  endeavor — as  it  shall, 
by  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  be  mine — to  retain,  or,  if  Ave 
have  in  any  measure  lost,  regain  our  first  love,  simphcity,  holi- 
ness, deadness  to  the  world,  and  zeal  for  God.  As  we  origin- 
ally received  Christ,  so  ought  we  to  walk  m  Him.  The  more 
I  see  of  Methodists,  the  more  I  am  convinced  that  their  great 
danger,  at  i)resent,  arises  from  the  temptations  they  are  under  to 
drink  into  the  spirit  of  the  world,  which,  whatever  plausible  forms 
or  modifications  it  may  assimie,  is  an  irreconcilable  enemy  to 
the  spirit  of  devotion.  I  think  we  are  never  safe  but  Avhen  we 
guard  agauist  the  ai)pearance  of  this  evil,  and,  for  conscience' 
sake,  refuse  to.  be  '  conformed  to  this  world,'  not  merely  in 
tilings  sinful,  but  even,  sometimes,  in  things  indifferent.  When 
we  are  a  singular — a  peculiar  people,  the  hedge  of  scorn  and 
ridicule  which  encompasses  us  is,  happily,  uistrumental  ui  keep- 
ing us  at  a  distance  from  the  danger  of  trespassing  into  forbid- 
den paths." 

To  Mr.  Marsden  my  father  writes,  "  You  will  oblige  me  by 
telling  me  frankly  the  whole  history  of  the  separation  of  Bux- 


13-1  TIIK    I-IKK    OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

toil  Iroin  Alacflt'stlc'ld.  Was  it  fairly  and  oju'iily  proposed  and 
carried  at  the  tjuarterly  nieeting?  Did  the  IJiixtoii  Irieiids 
tlien  declare  tliat  they  ])reterred  union  with  this  circuit,  even 
tlioui^li  they  ct)uld  only  have  preaching  from  us  once  a  fort- 
nii;ht,  ami  that  they  Avould  1)e  content  with  local  i)reacliors  on 
the  other  Sunday?  Did  they  know  of  the  ])r<»])osed  se)>ara- 
tion  ;  and  initxht  they  have  Lei'U  heard  aijaiiist  it  ii'  they  chose?" 
I  note  this  early  instance  of  his  regard  lor  popular  constitution- 
al rights. 

During  the  whole  of  my  father's  residence  in  Macclesfield  he 
maintained  a  correspondence  Mith  Mr.  Disney  Alexandi'r,  theii 
a  surgeon  at  Halifax,  hut  afterward  a  ])hysician  in  W:>kefii'ld; 
a  man  of  great  taste  and  of  considerable  accpiirements,  Avho, 
liaving  been  recovered  from  skei)ticism,*  had  become  a  Meth- 
odist and  a  local  jireacher,  and  had  ])ul)lishcd  "  ]?easons  for 
^Methodism,"  hut  who  ultimately  a<lopted  the  opinions — per- 
hajjs  I  ought  rather  to  say  the  doubts — of  the  Unitarian  sect. 
The  letters  related  almost  exclusively  to  topics  of  preaching 
and  theology.  I  give  an  extract  from  one  of  my  father's  own 
connnunications. 

"The  vohnnes  of  l>oiirdaloue  were  duly  returned.  I  am 
sorry,  but  not  much  surjirised  that  they  disappointed  your  ex- 
pectations. Have  you  seen  the  Sermons  of  Saurin  in  French? 
Some  of  those  not  yet  translated  by  Kobinson  or  Hunter  ])Os- 
sess,  I  am  told,  pre-cn)inent  merit,  es])ecially  one  on  the  >«e\v 
IJirtli,  and  three  on  the  danger  of  di-laying  our  conversion.! 
Those  on  the  latter  subject  (a  subject,  in  my  opinion,  of  all  oth- 
ers most  necessary  to  be  insisted  upon  in  tlic  jiresent  state  of 
llie  religious  world)  ]\Ir.  Home  is  now  translating  for  the  bene- 
fit f)f  his  congregation,  and  I  havi'  some  lio|ic  that,  aiti'r  using 
ihem  in  his  ])ulpit,  he  will  conunit  them  to  thi'  j)ri'ss.  I  jx-r- 
ceive  fn^n  the  monthly  lists  of  loreign  jtuldieations  that  a  great 
vanety  of  French  sermons  lias  been  n-cently  imported,  chieily 
l»y  (ienevese  jtreachers.  I  should  like  to  kiunv  sonu'thiiig  of 
their  character  and  merits.     Can  you  give  me  any  iiifonnation 

♦  Sec  tlic  nrcoiiiU  in  tlic  Ainiiiiiun  Mapnziiio  for  I  TOO. 

t  ThcHf  nnd  otlwr  hciinon.s  of  Saurin  wire  afl<  rwiinl  trnnslat«<l  intn  Kn- 
Rlixli,  nn<l  i>iil)li.Hlic'd  liy  llit-  late  Kcv.  .I()sc|)h  SntclilVc.  A.M..  a  man  of  ^rcat 
hfniity  of  mind  and  cxcellenfc  of  rliaractcr,  nnd  wlinso  Commentary  on  lli() 
Holy  Srrii)tnrcB  lins  met  with  inuth  deserved  acceptance. 


PROBATION   IN   THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         135 

concevnincf  them  ?  I  am  mucli  obliged  and  gratified  by  tlie  ac- 
count you  liavc  transmitted  to  me  of  tlic  i)lan  of  your  sermons 
on  the  Evidences.  I  greatly  wish  to  have  the  ojjportunity, 
wliich  you  kindly  promise,  of  perusing  them  at  length.  Your 
outline  1  think  a  very  good  one.  I  am  glad  that  you  avoid 
entering  into  any  long  detail  of  objections,  and  of  answers  to 
them.  Such  details  in  the  pulpit,  I  am  afraid,  oftener  do  harm 
than  good.  A  dithculty  may  be  urged  and  explained  in  a  few 
words,  but  very  fully,  which  it  would  require  great  length  of 
time  to  solve;  and  many  will  understand  and  remember  this 
difficulty,  who,  for  want  of  the  requisite  patience  and  attention, 
will  neither  comprehend  nor  retahi  the  solution.  Phiinly  and 
forcibly  to  state  the  positive  CAndences,  and  in  a  brief,  yet  full 
and  connected  manner,  is,  to  my  mind,  a  better  way  of  defending 
the  truth  against  the  cavils  of  opponents  than  to  attempt  the 
cntUess  task  of  providing  niiimte  and  particular  replies  to  every 
objection  which  ignorance  or  prejudice  may  suggest.  By  the 
former  plan  we  shall  often  prevent  such  objections ;  by  the  lat- 
ter Ave  can,  at  best,  but  cure  them.  We  ought,  perhaps,  to 
copy,  in  this  particular,  the  conduct  of  the  first  preachers  and 
Christians,  who,  it  should  seem  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
confined  themselves,  in  general,  to  a  plain  statement  of  the 
doctrine  of  our  religion,  and  of  the  prophecies  and  miracles  to 
which  it  appeals,  and  took  little  pains  to  reply  to  objections. 
The  disjjlay  of  truth  is  the  best  refutation  of  error,  the  surest 
antidote  to  falsehood.  I  am  in  possession  of  the  little  tract  of 
Clarke  to  Avhich  you  refer,  and  unite  Avith  you  in  thinking  it  to 
be  a  masterly  production.  His  remarks  on  the  hiseparable  con- 
nection bctAVcen  the  moral  excellency  of  our  Savior's  cliarac- 
ter  and  the  truth  of  His  miracles  are  peculiarly  forcible.  I  rec- 
ollect no  Avriter  on  the  subject  Avho  has  done  so  much  justice 
to  this  branch  of  the  evidence,  by  shoAvmg  the  absurdity  of 
those  Avho,  Avhilc  they  profess  to  admit  and  admire  the  former, 
reject  and  deny  the  latter.  Yet  it  has  sometimes  struck  me, 
on  reading  this  pami)hlet,  that  the  author  should,  m  the  coiu'se 
of  liis  argument,  have  taken  more  notice,  and  made  more  use 
of  that  part  of  it  Avhich  it  has,  of  late,  become  usual  to  term'the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  Christianity ;  for  it  seems  to  me  that,  with- 
out adverting  to  these,  the  Gospel  can  not  be  displayed  in  its 
full  glory  and  excellence.     If  the  Socinian  vicAV  of  Christianity 


130  TliE   LIFE   UF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

is  just — if  it  is  only  tlic  injunction  of  moral  duties,  enforced  by 
;i  flearor  revelation  of  future  ri'wards  and  punislunents  than 
had  1  If  fori-  ln-iii  niadf,  I  own  I  should  see  littU'  in  it  worthy  of 
such  luiraculojis  intcrlV-rcncc  as  it  lays  claim  to.  There  wants 
in  that  scheme  the  diynus  ruulire  /loduji^na  Dr.  White,  I  think, 
in  the  Notes  to  his  Hampton  Lecture,  has  well  argued.  The 
vast  a))paratus  of  ])ro|>hecics  and  miracles  ein]tloye«l  for  its  in- 
troduction a)>pears  to  be  more  extensive  and  laborious  thiui  the 
end  in  view  required  or  justified:  But,  if  Christianity  is  con- 
sidered as  a  scheme  for  the  salvation  of  creatures  whom  sin 
had  degraded  and  ruined,  by  the  mediation  of  an  Incarnate 
Deity,  the  whole  system  then  assumes  a  credible  and  consistent 
form,  and  becomes  evidently  worthy  of  Ciod  to  contrive  and 
estabhsh  by  means  so  graiul  ami  extraordinary.  In  the  j)oint 
just  referred  to,  the  tract  of  your  neighbor,  3Ir.  Fawcctt,  writ- 
ten five  or  si.\  years  ago,  has  the  advantage  of  Mr.  Clarke's." 

Some  jtassages  in  a  letter  to  iSIr.  ^Marsden  furnish  notices  of 
what  was  wont  to  be  done  at  that  stage  of  the  crystallization 
of  Methodism.  "The  jireachers  of  this  «listrict  nu-t  last  week 
at  Northwich.  A  good  deal  of  conversation  took  place  about 
the  stations  for  the  district,  and  a  rough  sketch  was  made  for 
the  assistaiu'o  of  our  representative.  I  was  put  down  for  ]5urs- 
lem  along  with  Mr.  l>arl*er.  "^rhe  Welsli  Mission  is  still  aston- 
ishingly successful.  Some  of  the  most  serious  clergy,  who  en- 
courage the  mission,  if  any  of  our  preachei's  are  present,  are  in 
the  habit  of  desiring  them  to  stand  by  the  conmumion-tables, 
and  to  give  out  our  hynms  while  the  sacrament  is  administer- 
ing." 

My  fathi-r  comnu'nces  a  eorrcspondiiu-e  with  .Mr.  Loimms  in 
the  Ibllowing  terms: 

"  Mftcclosfield,  .Inni-  Dili,  1808. 

"My  vkuv  I)i:ak  Huotiikic, — Indolence  in  tlu-  discharge  of 
epi.slolary  duties  is  uwv  of  my  easily-besetting  sins:  a  circum- 
stance this  of  which  I  think  it  right  to  give  you  notice  in  the 
first  letter  which  I  write  to  yoti,  that  you  may  not  be  surprised 
if,  in  the  course  of  our  future  correspondence,  you  should  some- 
times have  reason  to  crtinplain  of  it.  'i'o  such  an  ftccnsional 
<-orrosjK>ndenco  I  hwtk  forward  with  great  jtleasure;  :uid  the 
Iiojk;  f)f  lu'ing  benefited  :uid  edified  by  your  fref|iU'nt  connnuni- 
cations  Avill,  T  think,  induce  me  to  strive  vigorously  agaiust  my 


PROBATION  IN  THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRC r IT.         137 

natural  aversion  to  the  use  of  my  pen.  In  all  respects,  I  be- 
lieve, I  am  more  in  clanger  from  sloth  and  inactivity  than  from 
any  thinuf  else.  I  a|)i)rc)\  e,  admire,  and  love  what  is  good,  but 
I  do  not  pursue  it  with  sulficieut  eagerness  and  perseverance. 
My  exertions  are  too  languid  and  transient  to  be  very  success- 
ful. I  want  energy  and  uniformity.  Tell  me  wliat  means  I 
shall  adopt  in  order  to  attain  to  that  holy  violence  wliich  takes 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  by  storm.  As  a  Christian  and  as  a 
l)reaeher,  I  leel  myself  e(]ually  detieient  in  that  strength  which 
would  render  me  mighty  through  God  to  be  good  and  to  do 
good." 

Mr.  Lomas  andMr.  Rcece  corresponded  ^^^th  eacli  other  and 
with  my  father  as  to  certain  movements  at  Leeds  and  ]Man- 
chester  on  the  part  of  the  "  Kevivalists  ;"  a  class  which,  about 
this  period,  again  occasioned  considerable  uneasiness  to  the  fa- 
thers of  the  connection,  and  to  the  nujre  intelligent  and  pious 
of  the  jimior  preachers.  "William  Brainwell,  a  man  eminent 
for  holiness,  and  for  the  gifts  which,  rightfully  used,  insure  min- 
isterial success,  openly  espoused  the  cause  of  this  party  untU 
their  conduct  ended  in  a  miserable  schism.  lie  was  stationed 
in  Leeds,  and  ]Mr.  Kcece  writes  to  Mr.  Lomas  :  "  If  a  RevivaUst 
must  be  su])i)orted  by  one  ]»reacher  and  two  leaders  in  opposi- 
tion to  three  preachers  and  fifty  leaders"  (of  the  three  so  oi> 
posed  were  Barber  and  Recce),  "  when  he  tramples  the  rules 
of  our  society  imder  his  feet,  and  that  merely  because  he  is  a 
Revivalist,  Revivalism  will  soon  ruin  Methodism." 

"  Divisions  in  the  Church  of  Christ,"  writes  Mr.  Lomas  to  my 
fatlier,  "are  awful,  and  I  would  do  all  I  could,  with  a  good  con- 
science, to  prevent  them;  but  I  think  the  time  is  conie  for  the 
Methodist  preachers  to  bestir  themselves,  and  to  do  all  tlicy  can 
for  the  honor  of  the  religion  of  Christ  as  taught  and  ejiforced 
among  themselves.  I  think  thev  must  now  '  arise  or  be  forever 
fallen)  " 

Mr.  Entwisle  Avrites  to  him  from  the  Stationing  Committee  of 
1803:  "You  are  doA\ni  for  London,  and,  if  you  go,  are  to  live 
with  Mr.  Joseph  Taylor.  How  this  came  about  I  will  fully  ex- 
plain to  you  when  I  see  you.  But  ^Ir.  Benson  seems  determ- 
ined you  shall  go  there." 

My  father  was  now  ra^)idly  completing  liis  term  of  tour  years' 


138  THE   LIFE  OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

probation,  and  lie  had  well  and  diligently  improved  it.  He  de- 
voted himself  exclusively  to  the  studies  and  engagements  di- 
reetly  relating  to  his  ne^v  voeation.  The  puljiit  received  his 
first  attention,  nut  so  much  because  its  chums  \\  ere  instant  and 
almost  daily,  as  because  he  knew  that  the  secret  of  ministerial 
influence  lies  chiefly  there.  This  idea  was  kept  uppenuost, 
whatever  interest  he  took  in  tlie  private  departments  of  pastor- 
id  labor,  or  in  the  welfare  of  the  connection  generally.  He 
never  missed  an  opportunity  of  hearing  a  sermon.  Service  dm-- 
ing  church-hours  not  having  been  yet  introduced  mto  the  Meth- 
odist Chapel,  he  was  able  frequently  to  attend  the  vigorous  min- 
istry of  ]Mr.  Ilorne,  and  he  communicated  occasionally  at  his 
church.  He  read  largely  in  general  theology,  including  the 
pid^hshed  sermons  of  both  old  and  modern  preachers.  He 
carefully  copied  and  preserved  skeletons  and  sketches  of  ser- 
mons. He  extracted  from  his  general  reading  every  thing  that 
could  suggest  topics  or  materials  for  ))ublie  discoiu'se.  He  tried 
his  hand  at  amending  other  men's  compositions.  His  own  i)rep- 
aratious  were  full  and  elaborate,  and  were  suV)jecteil  to  contin- 
ual revision.  But  of  these  I  speak  with  dittiilence.  At  least 
one  vohune  of  them  will  i)robably  meet  the  i)ublic  eye.  He 
was  very  diligent  in  his  attentions  to  the  sick  and  aged  of  the 
flock,  and  particularly  so  to  its  younger  members.  To  tlicse 
his  services  were  rendered  eminently  useful.  He  busied  him- 
self, in  strict  subordination,  however,  to  his  sui)erinlendent  min- 
isters, with  every  part  of  the  tinancc  and  general  business  of  the 
circuit.  The  letters  from  which  I  have  (pioted  are  evidence  of 
liis  anxiety  to  master  all  questions  allectingthe  connection  as  a 
whole.  They  also  show  a  steady  inq)rovcmcnt  in  i)ersonal  re- 
ligion. 

J)iiring  tlic  four  years  oi"  trial  he  ])r(:ichcd  thirteen  hundred 
and  l"orty-fight  times.  At  the  end  of  the  second  year  (and  I 
can  not  carry  the  accomit  farther)  he  had  nearly  a  hundred  ser- 
mons ready  for  use  as  lie  might  recpiirc  them.  His  jdan  seems 
to  have  been  to  ]>reacli  each  one  at  difterent  places  in  tlie  cir- 
cuit in  rapid  succession.  Among  his  ])a])ers  arc  notes  of  out- 
door ]ireaching.  He  had  already  become  very  ]>o].ular,  and 
paid  frequent  visits  lo  other  circuits,  under  limitations  which 
his  own  good  sense  and  the  discretion  of  his  superintendents 
very  i)ro]jerly  iiii]»osed.     I  can  not  but  observe  with  interest  a 


PROBATION  IN   THE   :^ACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         130 

memorandum  of  a  sermon  preached  at  the  liouse,  in  or  near 
Leeds,  of  Mrs.  ]Mather,  tlien  a  Avi(h)\v.  For  tlie  benefit  of  any 
interested  in  tlie  information,  a  Ust  of  some  of  tlie  texts  upon 
wliieli  he  prepared  sermons  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.* 

Every  Methodist  preacher,  when  his  probation  has  ended,  and 
he  is  fully  received  and  recognized  as  a  minister,  but  not  before, 
is  entitled  to  charge  the  connection  Avith  the  maintenance  of  a 
wife.  The  regulation  is  easily  vindicated  when  exi)lained.  For 
the  candi(hite's  own  sake,  it  is  exi)edient,  except  in  very  f^pecial 
circumstances,  that  his  attention  should  be  exclusively  devoted 
to  the  duties  and  studies  of  his  vocation;  besides  which,  no 
man  of  honorable  mind  will  expose  a  woman  wliom  he  really 
loves  to  the  results  of  possible  failure.  To  the  connection,  the 
arrangement  secures  all  the  advantages  which  the  probationer 
derives  from  it ;  and  it  is  far  easier  to  deal  faithfully  with  the 
case  of  an  unmarried  man,  than  with  that  of  one  who  has  doub- 
led his  responsibilities.  When  the  period  of  trial  has  been 
honorably  jDassed,  all  parties  derive  benefit  from  the  speedy, 
if  prudent  marriage  of  the  young  minister.  He  settles  doysii 
at  once  to  the  business  of  life,  with  all  its  spnpathies  and  inter- 
ests, and  finds  in  the  joy  and  solace  of  his  home  the  readiest 
assistant  of  his  work  abroad.  Let  all  who  know  the  admirable 
women  who  cheerfully  endure  the  hardest  straits  of  the  Meth- 
odist itinerancy  testify  how  truly  I  speak  on  this  subject. 

I  find  traces  so  early  as  the  conclusion  of  1802  of  a  friend- 
ship which,  in  my  father's  case,  ripened  into  love  and  marriage. 
But  the  history  of  his  decision  is  recorded  by  liimself,  and  I 
think  it  should  not  be  kept  secret.  It  sujiplies  many  sugges- 
tions to  young  ministers  whose  thoughts  may  be  similarly  oc- 
cupied ;  and  it  is  a  striking  exhibition  of  the  writer's  charac- 
teristic qualities.  The  foUoAving  is  slightly  abridged  from  a 
memorandum  found  among  his  papers  : 

"  There  are  two  questions  to  be  seriously  considered  before  I 
make  my  final  decision  on  the  most  important  busmess  which 
has  so  long  occupied  my  thoughts  and  so  deeply  interested  my 
most  tender  afi:cctions.  May  God  gracioitsly  direct  my  paths, 
and  enable  me  to  judge  aright ! 

"  I.  The  first  question  is  general ;  viz.,  ^hall  Imarry^  or  taTce 
any  step  toward  marriage^  at  present?  Is  it  my  duty,  or  con- 
*  See  Appendix  I,  at  the  end  of  this  vohimo. 


1-10  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUXTIXG. 

sistcnt  with  my  duty,  to  cngago  in  such  a  rchition  at  all?  Will 
it  ])roinott'  the  glory  of  God  and  my  wclthrc?  Shall  I  jtroba- 
bly  he  as  lu)ly,  hap|»y,  and  useful  in  a  married  as  I  may  be  in  a 
tiiugle  state? 

"  For  the  affirmative  it  may  be  urged, 

"1.  It  must  be  the  will  of  God  that  persons  in  general  should 
marry  at  a  proper  time.  The  jiresent  constitution  of  man  and 
of  the  world  is  such  as  to  prove  that  Provich'uce  intended  this  ; 
and  evident  Providential  intention  is  as  binding  as  explicit  pre- 
cept. The  general  law  of  God,  therefore,  enjoins  matrimony 
as  matter  of  obligation  in  all  ordinary  cases ;  so  that  every  per- 
son is  providentially  bound  to  marry,  if  he  can  not  plead  some 
special  ground  of  exemption.  May  it  not  be  (juestioned  whether 
tinnecessary  celibacy  is  not  a  sinful  counteraction  of  the  i)ur- 
poses  and  plans  of  Divine  Providence  ?  St.  Paul's  advice  to 
the  Corinthians  does  not  evince  the  contrary;  for  it  was  given 
in  a  time  of  violent  persecution,  and  is  expressly  limited  to 
what  he  calls  the  in'esent  ilixtrcss.  To  understand  it  as  a  pre- 
cei>t  of  general  and  permanent  aj^plication  would  be  to  make 
the  God  of  Kevelation  contradict  the  God  of  Providence.  Nay, 
Scripture  itself  declares  that  'it  is  not  good  to  be  alone,'  and 

that  'marriage  is  honorable  in  all.' 

****** 

"  Late  marriages  are,  in  many  other  rcs])ects,  inconvenient ; 
and  can  I  accuse  myself  of  improper  haste  or  eageniess  if  I 
think  of  accomi>lishing  such  a  purpose  by  the  time  I  shall  be 
twenty-five  years  of  age? 

"  A  Methodist  preacher  without  wife,  and  without  any  home 
of  his  own,  has  many  inconveniences  and  difficulties  to  bear, 
of  which  one  married  is  wholly  divested,  ^{y  comfort,  there- 
fore, as  well  as  my  piety,  would,  T  lliiiik,  be  promoted  l»y  a 
j)ro])er  miiun  ol"this  nature. 

"While  I  delay  this  l)usiness,  my  choice  being  unfixed,  my 
mind  will,  of  course,  be  unsettle(l,  and  I  shall  be  li:d>le  occa- 
sionally to  much  ))erplexity  and  exercise,  which  would  be 
r'scaj)e<l  by  endeavoring  to  fix  now.  What  I  have*  often  de- 
tected  in  my  own  heart  with  res])ect  to  Miss ,  and  am 

si  ill  conscious  of,  confimis  this  view  of  things,  especially  if 
connected  with  tlic  probability  that  I  must  remove  hence  in 
Au^'ust. 


PROBATION   IN   THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.  141 

"  On  these  and  other  accounts,  I  think  the  probability  of 
superior  permanent  useiuhicss,  also,  is  against  a  much  longer 
celibacy,  and  in  favor  of  some  immediate  eflbrts  toward  matri- 
mony. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be  considered, 

"  1.  Marriage  will  certainly  bring  with  it  new  cares,  and 
must  be  expected,  as  is  the  case  with  every  thmg  human,  to 
have  its  trials  and  inconveniences. 

"  2.  There  is  always  some  danger  of  making  a  wrong  choice, 
which  might  render  me  miserable,  and  greatly  obstruct  my 
usefulness. 

"  3.  Perhaps  this  step  might  not  be  quite  agreeable  to  my 
dear  and  aged  mother.  She  might,  in  that  case,  fear  lest  such 
a  connection  might  too  much  wean  me  from  her,  and  render 
me  less  attentive  to  her  comfort. 

"  4.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  I  might  not  piirsue  my 
studies  to  more  advantage  if  I  deferred  all  projects  of  this  kind 
a  few  years  longer. 

"  5.  My  health  is  not  now  robust :  it  has  been  delicate  and 
interrupted.  Ought  a  man  thus  circumstanced  to  marry?  Is 
it  right  to  engage  a  lady  in  a  connection  which,  if  I  should 
become  an  invalid,  might  prove  burdensome  and  disagreeable 
to  her  ? 

"  After  the  most  deliberate  consideration,  accompanied  with 
solemn  abstinence  and  prayer,  my  judgment  is,  that  the  balance 
of  argument  is  greatly  in  favor  of  matrimony  as  soon  as  conven- 
ient. The  first  reason  against  it,  if  of  weight  at  all,  would  be  of 
Aveight  hi  every  case,  and,  by  proving  marriage  to  be  generally 
inexpedient,  would  contradict  reason  and  Scripture.  Besides, 
inconvenience  and  trouble  are  not  valid  excuses  for  neglecting 
what  has  apjicared  in  itself  to  be  a  general  duty.  The  selfish, 
indolent,  and  cowardly  principle,  from  which  these  excuses 
proceed,  must  not  be  tolerated  by  a  Christian.  The  second 
objection  is  one  which  can  only  apply  to  a  particular  person ; 
not  to  the  connection  itself  It  ought  to  be  kept  in  mind 
when  I  come  to  the  selection  of  an  individual  for  a  wife,  but 
can  not  be  of  suflicient  force  to  prohibit  me  from  forming  the 
relation  at  all.  As  to  the  third,  I  do  believe  that  marriage,  if 
I  happily  meet  vnth  one  whose  views  of  filial  duty  and  Chris- 
tian piety  at  all  resemble  ray  OAvn,  will  not  either  indispose  or 


142  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

iucapacitate  nio  for  paying  every  proper  and  possible  attention 
to  my  mother.  After  considering  the  fourth,  I  am  of  ojsinion 
that,  when  fully  settled  in  life,  I  shall  be  able  to  pursue  my 
studies,  not  with  less,  but  with  more  advantage  than  at  i)res- 
ent;  and,  at  all  events,  if  marriage  be  advisable  in  oi'der  to 
piety,  the  partial  interruption  of  my  pursuit  of  knowledge' 
will  be  ultimately  better  than  celibacy.  As  to  the  fifth  objec- 
tion, I  think  my  constitution  is  not  at  all  impaired ;  with  proper 
caution,  I  believe  my  health  will  improve ;  the  occasional  in- 
terruption of  it  I  am  authorized  to  ascribe  to  local  and  tem- 
porary causes ;  and  for  seven  months  it  has  been  uniformly 
good. 

"  II.  The  second  question  is  ^:)ar#^c^<?a?•,  and  relates  not  to 
the  general  proj^riety  of  marriage  in  my  case,  but  to  the  suita- 
bleness of  an  individual.     Is  3Iiss a  projier  person  to  be 

addressed  by  me  on  the  subject  ? 

"  Some  of  the  arguments  in  the  affirmative  are  as  follows : 

"  1.  I  am  not  sure  that  she  is  eminently,  but  I  believe  she  is 
very  sincerely  and  truly  jjious.  In  marryhig  her^if  I  can  gain 
her  consent,  I  should  not  transgress  that  precept,  '  Marry  only 
in  the  Lord ;'  nor  that,  '  Be  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbe- 
lievers.' 

"2.  Her  natural  temper  is,  according  to  all  the  accounts  I 
have  heard,  and  all  the  observations  I  have  made,  uncommonly 
mild  and  good.  This  is  a  point  of  prime  imi^ortance,  and  will 
make  up  for  many  failings. 

"3.  She  has  assuredly  great  good  sense;  has  been  suitably 
educated ;  is  well  uiformed ;  and  very  extraordmarily  qualified 
to  be  a  helpmate  to  a  minister  in  his  studies  and  labors. 

"  4.  She  has,  apparently,  good  health,  a  sound  constitution, 
a  vigorous  frame,  and  a  great  floAV  of  spirits. 

"  5.  Her  manners  are  polished  and  agreeable,  so  that  she 
would  be  fit  for  any  of  the  various  scenes  and  situations  into 
Avhich  the  itinerant  life  might  call  her. 

"  6.  She  was  brought  up  under  the  care  of  one  who,  I  have 
reason  to  suppose,  has  accustomed  her  to  domestic  habits,  and 
fitted  her  by  practice  for  performing  the  duties  of  a  wife  in 

domestic  concerns.     Since  Mrs. 's  death,  she  has  had  the 

management  of  her  father's  house,  which  must  have  fartlier 
tended  to  qualify  her  for  the  station  in  question. 


PROBATIOiSr   IN  THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIRCUIT.         143 

"  V.  She  has  eminent  talents  for  usefulness  (e.  g.,  in  visiting 
the  sick),  which,  if  joroperly  directed,  would  render  her  agree- 
able and  profitable  to  our  societies. 

"  8.  She  has  very  few  relative  connections — none,  I  think, 
which  would  materially  harass  or  mcommode  us  in  a  religious 
view,  and  as  Methodists,  if  we  were  once  united. 

"  9.  If  I  am  not  wholly  deceived,  there  is  some  reason  for 
me  to  hope  that  our  respect  for  each  other  is  mutual.  On  my 
side,  indeed,  that  respect  has  long  been  ripened  into  conscious, 
though  concealed  affection,  and  on  hers,  perhaps,  it  may  amomit 
to  somethmg  like  predilection.  The  probability  that  my  ad- 
dresses might  be  favorably  received  is,  to  one  in  my  public 
station,  and  with  my  views  of  ministerial  character  and  pro- 
jjriety,  an  im^jortant  inducement. 

"  10.  She  has  expressed,  also,  a  considerable  predilection  for 
the  situation  of  a  minister's  wife,  as  favorable  to  those  pursuits 
in  which  her  mind  finds  most  delight.  This  predilection  would 
tend  to  reconcile  her  to  many  difticulties,  and  she  would  know 
how  to  appreciate  more  justly  the  intellectual  and  religious 
advantages  which  she  would  enjoy. 

"  On  the  other  hand.,  though  already  so  much  her  lover  as 
to  be  also  her  admirer,  I  can  not  but  allow, 

"  1.  I  have  no  proof,  from  any  thhig  I  have  seen  or  heard, 
that  her  piety  is  deep^  though  I  think  it  is  sincere  and  steady ; 
yet,  probably,  in  a  more  favorable  situation  and  connection  it 
Avould  grow. 

"  2.  Her  attachment  to  Methodism  is  comparatively  of  recent 
date,  and  the  effects  of  the  Calvinistic  education  w^hich  she 
received,  upon  her  views  and  expressions,  are  not  altogether 
removed. 

"  3.  Her  temper,  from  its  extreme  vivacity  and  cheerfulness, 
is  apt  to  become  occasionally  light  and  trifling.  This  might 
easily  affect  a  mind  like  mine  with  similar  levity,  the  bane  of 
all  spiritual  rehgion.  Or,  if  I  avoided  it  myself,  I  should  be 
greatly  pained  and  embarrassed  on  witnessing  in  her  manners 
and  conversation  those  effects  and  indications  of  it  which  I, 
who  love  her,  and  know  the  excellency  of  her  general  charac- 
ter, might  excuse,  but  for  which  others  would  not  make  even 
proper  and  reasonable  allowances ;  yet,  as  she  must  be  aware 
that  this  is  her  peculiar  besetment,  doubtless  she  would  strive 


144  THE   LIKE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

and  pray  acrainst  it,  ami  an  increase  of  vital  religion  would 
deliver  her  iVoni  it. 

"4.  Her  dress  is  at  present  by  far  too  gay,  and  eostly,  and 
worldly;  l)ut  in  this  also,  if  she  ai»prove  my  projtosals  in  all 
other  respeets,  she  would  probably  promise  to  make  the  neces- 
sary amendment,  on  ]>roper  representations. 

"5.  It  is  highly  prt)bable  that  some  of  her  connections  would 
dissuade  her  from  ac(|uiescing  in  my  project,  and  that  some  of 
my  friends,  who  do  but  i)artially  and  insufliciently  know  her, 
would  severely  condenm  my  choice.  But  is  it  not  right,  while, 
in  Ibrming  our  judgment,  we  pay  proper  regard  to  the  advice 
of  others,  ullinuUely  to  judge  and  decide  for  ourselves? 

"  6.  In  becoming  my  wife,  she  would  certainly  be  exposed  to 
some  hardships,  and  inconveniences,  and  ju-ivations,  to  wliieh, 
in  her  present  situation,  she  is  a  stranger ;  yet  if,  on  a  fair  state- 
ment of  these,  she  be  willing  to  take  me  '  for  better,  for  worse,* 
are  they  any  reasons  wliy  I  should  lose  so  eligible  an  opportu- 
nity of  procuring  the  comforts  and  blessings  of  conjugal  friend- 
ship? And,  even  as  it  respects  herself,  this  objection  will  be 
of  less  force  if  she  liave  at  command  any  j)roi)erty,  which,  by 
adding  to  our  income  from  the  connection,  would  contribute  to 
multijily  our  conveniences. 

"  On  the  whole,  my  judgment  now  sjicaks  decidedly  the 
same  language  which  my  aftection  has  long  suggested ;  and  I 
feel  my  mind  at  liberty,  yea,  I  trust,  divinely  led  and  inclined, 
to  take  the  first  oi»i)ortunity  of  i)rofcssing  my  attacluncnt,  and 
soliciting  a  favorable  answer.  Whatever  be  the  event  of  this 
intended  aj)plicalion,  O  Lord,  my  God,  my  Father,  my  Friend, 
l)rej)are  me  for  it,  and  sanctify  it  to  my  present  and  eternal 
good !  J.  B. 

*'  OrrdVs  Wr/f,  yimr  Llndow  Side,  Macclcsjicld\^ 
Circuit,  Juhj  lilt,  1803."  > 

A  very  few  weeks  after  this  ]k\]h'v  was  -Nmtten,  my  father 
was  bt'trotheil  to  the  dear  antl  lionore<l  woman  to  whom  it  re- 
ft is  w  ith  such  warm  but  judicious  allection.  No  single  event 
of  his  life,  other  than  those  of  his  conversion  ami  of  his  call  to 
the  holy  ministry,  exercised  u\)on  his  character  an<l  entire  ca- 
reer an  influence  so  conducive  to  his  happiness  and  success. 
Of  her  I  wish  to  speak  in  the  language  of  others  rather  than  in 


PROBATION  IN  THE  MACCLESFIELD  CIRCUIT.         1-15 

my  own,  and  tliat  so  as  not  to  intrude  the  memorial  oi'lier  ])re- 
cious  virtues  upon  any  to  ■\vliom  it  may  be  less  interesting  than 
the  continued  narrative  of  my  lather's  lil'e.  The  only  comiect- 
ed  records  of  my  mother's  life  and  death  which  were  ever  pre- 
pared are  therefore  placed  m  the  Appendix.*  They  were  hast- 
ily written  for  the  funeral  sermon  preached  on  the  occasion  of 
her  decease.  I  shall,  however,  hereafter  quote  from  a  docu- 
ment which  refers  to  Loth  my  parents,  and  some  features  of  his 
wife's  character  require  the  notice  of  Jabcz  Bimting's  biogra- 
})hcr. 

►She  liad  seen  mucli  of  the  society  of  ministers.  David  Simp- 
son, her  pastor  and  chief  s^jiritual  adviser,  miitcd  in  his  own  })er- 
son  the  clergyman  and  the  Methodist.  AVith  the  Methodist 
preachers,  distinctively  such,  the  frank  and  cheerful  conversa- 
tion, and  the  active  charities  of  the  young  girl  had  made  her  a 
special  favorite.  Mr.  Smith,  in  whose  family  she  resided  for 
some  years,  was  an  Independent,  strongly  Calvmistic,  and  emi- 
nently gracious.  Her  intimate  friend,  Jane  Dorothea  Stephen- 
son, between  whom  and  herself  frequent  visits  and  a  corre- 
spondence passed  during  many  years,  was  the  daughter  of  the 
incumbent  of  Olney ;  and  my  mother  was  accordingly  brought 
into  close  coimection  with  the  class  of  clergy  with  which  the 
name  of  that  village  is  identified.  She  had  thus  acquii'cd  a 
lively  interest  m  ministerial  studies  and  pursuits ;  a  soimd  and 
healthy,  if  somewhat  critical  taste  for  preacldng ;  and  a  catho- 
hc  knowledge  and  love  of  good  men ;  so  that,  when  she  was 
married,  two  large  and  generous  hearts  united,  and,  by  the 
miion,  mcrcased  their  s}'mpathies.  Her  reverence  for  her  hus- 
band prevented  any  interference  with  liis  own  peculiar  work ; 
but  she  had  a  ready  tact  in  giving  an  impression  where  she 
.  would  not  venture  to  ofter  an  opinion ;  and  her  tender  regard 
for  his  honor  opened  her  ears,  all  attentively,  to  whatever  al- 
fected  it.  She  reUeved  hhn  entirely  from  the  j^ressure  of  all 
strictly  domestic  affairs ;  she  husbanded  well  his  small  income 
— small  even  when  lier  own  was  added  to  it;  she  was  liis  or- 
nament in  general  society ;  she  presided  with  dignity  and  grace 
over  his  hospitalities  at  home ;  she  searched  out  for  hhn  the 
poor,  those  most  rightful  claunants  on  a  minister's  pious  care 
and  charity ;  she  assisted  him  in  his  spiritual  work  by  taking 
*  See  Appendix  J,  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 

Vol,  I.— G 


146  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

the  ovcrsiglit  of  large  classes  of  females,  especially  of  such  as 
were  young  or  feeble  in  the  faith.  As  to  the  Calvinism,  the 
possible  effect  of  ■which  he  so  cautiously  weighed  before  he 
committed  himself  to  the  connection,  she  used  i)layfully  to 
threaten  hhu  Avith  a  total  relapse  into  it  at  times  when  things 
went  wrong — when  the  price  of  provisions  was  very  high,  or 
leaders'  meetmgs  were  very  stormy.  Her  dress,  about  which 
I  must  admit  she  teased  liim  during  a  com-tship  wliich  both 
Avere  glad  to  end,  Avas,  from  motives  alike  of  prudence  and  of 
economy,  adapted  to  the  proprieties  of  her  station.  lie  fore- 
saw truly  that  her  Aivacity  would  sometimes  be  misunderstood 
in  many  of  the  circles  in  which  it  was  her  lot  to  move,  but  it 
lit  lip  a  perpetual  sunshine  in  his  heart  and  household.  Her 
strong  good  sense,  and  her  readiness  in  the  clear,  apt,  and 
striking  expression  of  her  thoughts,  sometimes  frightened  the 
proper  and  the  narrow-minded,  and,  of  course,  woimded  the 
jealousy  of  conscious  inferiors.  I>ut  men  of  great  si:)iritual 
wisdom  courted  her  company ;  timid  young  ])reachers  sunned 
and  strengthened  themselves  in  the  light  of  her  lovhig  and  sa- 
gacious comisels,  and  faltering  Christians  waited  for  a  smile 
from  her  bright  and  kindly  eye. 

At  the  Conference  of  1803,my  Mher  and  twenty-eight  other 
young  7nen  stood  in  the  front  seats,  round  the  gallery  of  Old- 
ham Street  Chapel,  Manchester;  the  i[»lace  where  AVesleyrlmd 
blessed  him  ;  to  Mhich  his  mother  had  taken  him,  Sabbath  after 
Sabbath,  when  a  child  ;  and  where,  jirobably,  he  had  formed  his 
first  -snsh  to  serve  God. 

Mather  and  ''l''lioni])Son  had  '"fallen  asleep;"  but  Benson  \vas 
there.  Joseph  IJradi'ord,  Avho  saw  Wesley  die,  Avas  in  the  chair; 
and  about  him  sat  Coke,  the  first  Joseph  Taylor,  Kutherford, 
Pawson,  Bradburn  —  blessing  God  "  for  the  love  Avhich  the 
preachers  manifested,  and  for  restoration  to  a  j)roper  name 
among  them" — Eiilwislc,  AValter  (iriflitli,  Uarbcr,  Cl.-irkc,  Ifob- 
crt  Lomas,  James  Wood,  James  Rogers,  'J'homas  Taylor,  Jolni 
Crook,  and,  indeed,  a  Avliole  college  of  apostles.  By  my  father's 
side  on  either  hand,  there  ranked  Robert  Newton,  Leach,  Bin- 
der, "William  Edward  ]Miller,  Claxton,  Xeedham,  Slack,  Isaac, 
Garrett,  and  Gilpin,  to  name  some  only  of  the  candidates  to  be 
"  received  into  full  coimcction,"  or,  as  it  would  have  been  call- 
ed in  other  churches,  to  be  solemnly  set  apart  to  the  Avork  and 


PROBATION  IN  THE   MACCLESFIELD   CIKCUIT.         147 

office  of  the  holy  ministry.  The  Church,  as  well  as  its  minis- 
ters, Avas  there,  represented  by  a  huge  congregation  of  praying- 
men  and  women,  to  witness  and  approve  the  act.  His  mother 
sat  in  her  own  quiet  corner ;  and  one  become  dearer  still  hid 
herself  in  the  general  crowd,  to  hear  vows  more  sacred  only 
than  those  which  were  soon  to  be  pledged  to  herself.  Search- 
ing questions  are  put  to  those  who  stand  up  there.  Each  re- 
plies for  himself;  and,  in  the  tone  and  manner  of  the  answer,  a 
quick  observer  often  reads  a  character  and  casts  a  horoscope. 
Every  candidate  Avas  asked  that  night,  "Are  you  resolved  to 
devote  yourself  Avholly  to  God  and  His  work  ?"  And  when 
Jabez  Bunting's  turn  came,  and,  w^ith  a  serious  modesty,  he 
said,  '■'•  I  habitually  do,''^  the  old  men  exchanged  looks,  and  lift- 
ed up  their  hearts  in  hope  and  prayer,  "and  great  grace  was 
upon  them  all." 

The  night  before  this  solemn  consecration  to  the  mmisterial 
office,  he  had  written  (it  was  the  third  time  that  week)  to  Miss 
Maclardie':  "The  Conference  tliis  morning,  after  a  long  and 
warm  debate,  confirmed,  by  a  considerable  majority,  my  ap- 
pointment for  London.  I  beUeve  it  is  of  God,  and  am  very  sor- 
ry that  the  Manchester  people  should  have  occasioned  so  much 
trouble  about  me.  My  mind  is  at  present  much  pained  in  con- 
sequence of  what  passed  on  this  subject.  Such  overstrained 
importunity  about  an  individual  makes  one  the  object  of  imi-' 
A'ersal  attention,  and  the  topic  of  general  conversation.  It  may, 
moreover,  excite  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  those  Avhose  labors 
happen  to  be  less  acceptable  to  the  people ;  and  it  is  productive 
of  real  injury  to  him  whom  it  seems  to  honor,  by  raising  to  too 
high  a  pitch  the  exjiectations  of  those  among  whom  he  may 
afterward  be  called  to  exercise  his  ministry.  After  what  has 
occurred  concerning  me  at  this  Conference,  I  must  be  possess- 
ed of  talents  gigantic  indeed  in  order  to  answer  the  ideas  which 
the  petitions  of  Manchester,  Liverjiool,  and  London  will  tend 
to  excite  in  the  minds  of  those  who  may  hear  of  the  affiiir.  I 
am  greatly  mortified  and  distressed.  Pray  for  me,  I  beseech 
you,  that  the  God  of  all  grace  and  comfort  may  lielp  and  direct 
me.  I  now  need,  more  than  ever,  the  sui^plies  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This  forenoon  Mr.  Roberts  proposed  that,  in  order  to 
prevent  all  farther  altercation  about  London  or  Manchester,  I 
should  go  to  neither  place,  but  to  Bath.    This  motion,  also,  was 


14^  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

ovemilecl,  but  not  till  my  feelings  had  been  again  most  painful- 
ly affected  by  the  awkwardness  of  my  situation.  By  the  pres- 
ent decision  I  mean  resolutely  to  abide,  and  to  prohibit  all  fai'- 
ther  ai»}>Ucations  from  my  friends  here  by  an  absolute  refusal 
to  come  to  Manchester ;  a  step  this,  Avhicli,  till  now,  I  could  not 
see  it  my  duty  to  take.  The  good  Lord  prepare  us  to  be  true 
lielpmates  for  each  other ;  companions,  not  only  in  the  cares 
and  pleasures  of  life,  but  in  the  kingdom,  and  patience,  and 
triltulation  of  Jesus!  May  Me  both  grow  in  grace,  and  give 
all  diligence  to  be  found  of  God  in  peace,  without  spot  and 
bhuneless!  To-morrow  will  be  to  me  a  most  important  day. 
To  be  publicly  and  solemnly  admitted  into  the  ministry ;  by 
one  u-revocable  act  to  abandon  all  secular  pursiiits,  and  to  de- 
vote my  body  and  soul,  my  health  and  strength,  my  tinie  and 
talents,  my  studies  and  labors,  to  the  service  of  the  Church 
■which  Christ  hath  bought  with  Ilis  own  blood — that  is  the 
business  which  hes  before  me.  Oh,  may  my  eye  be  smgle,  my 
mind  suitably  affected  by  the  important  occasion,  and  my  whole 
sub.se<iuent  conduct  correspond  to  the  engagements  into  which 
I  shall  then  enter!  !My  spirits  are  oppressed  by  these  things, 
but  ui  God  is  my  refuge  and  my  strength.  Be  you  His  instru- 
ment to  relieve  and  help  me." 

Now  is  the  time  to  ask  whether  my  father  was  satisfied  with 
•  tlie  orders  conferred  in  the  manner  I  have  stated.  I  may  have 
occasion  hereafter  to  advert  to  his  views  on  this  question. 
Meanwhile  I  give  a  brief  answer.  He  beheved  in  the  abstract 
necessity  of  an  order  separated  to  the  pastoral  office,  and  in  its 
;i|)])(>iiitiiK'nt  by  the  Lord  Jesus  as  a  ]>cr])etual  institute.  He 
liclii'ved  also  lliat,  as  a  rule,  the  order  ought  itself  to  provide 
for  its  own  contiiniance,  wliile  he  admitted  of  exceptions  in  spe- 
cial cases,  where  the  ap]>lication  of  the  rule  was  imi)ossible. 
Yet  farther,  he  believed  that  apostoUc  precedents  sanctioned 
the  use  of  the  imposition  of  hands  as  a  soli-nm  and  fitting  cir- 
cumstance, but  not  as  an  essential  part  of  the  rite  ofonlination. 
lie  did  not  believe  in  the  exclusive  validity  of  episcojial  ordi- 
n.ation,  nor  did  he  concern  himself  to  trace  the  precise  jiedigrec 
of  any  Presbyter  or  Presbytery  who  discharged  the  function 
of  ordaining,  ]>rovidc<l  that  he  or  it  possessed  a  de  facto  right, 
not  noloriously  usurped  or  wantonly  exercised,  to  sustain  the 
office  of  the  ministry.     lie  receiveil  his  own  connnission  from 


niS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  149 

Coke,  on  any  theory  a  Presbyter ;  and — through  those  wliom 
Wesley,  also  a  Presbyter,  had,  whether  of  set  purpose  or  l>y 
necessary  implication,  ordained — from  Wesley  hmiself.  lie  re- 
jected the  figment  of  the  indelibility  of  orders.  IMinisterial 
powers  and  functions,  ui  his  view,  belonged  to  the  office,  and 
not  to  the  person  sustaining  it.  Proved  crime  or  incomijetency 
justified  and  demanded  exclusion;  and  entii'e  incapacity  for 
duty,  providentially  occasioned,  was  always  an  excuse  for  en- 
gagement in  secular  avocations,  and  sometimes  an  imperative 
call  to  it.    But  I  tm-n  to  other  subjects. 


CHAPTER  X. 

niS   E.VELY   MI>aSTRY   IX  LONDON. 

Colleagues. — Joseph  Taylor. — Benjamin  Rhodes. — William  Myles. — 
George  Storj'. — Dr.  Lcifchild's  Recollections  of  Jabez  Bunting's  first  Ap- 
pearance in  the  Metropolis. — First  Portion  of  Diary  sent  to  Miss  Maclar- 
die. — Committee  of  London  Preachers. — Early-morning  Services. — The 
Penitents'  Meeting. — Dr.  James  Hamilton. — The  Eloquence  of  the  Pul- 
pit and  of  the  Bar. — William  Jay. — Persecution  of  the  Methodist  Sol- 
diers.— Letter  from  Dr.  Percival. — Intercourse  with  Joseph  Buttcrworth. 
— Wesley's  private  Library. — Letter  fi'om  Entwisle. — Counsels  to  an  in- 
tended Wife, — Joseph  Taylor  on  Song-singing. — The  Christian  Observer. 
— William  Huntington. — The  Claytons. 

I  HAVE  ah'eady  described  "  what  manner  of  entering  in"  the 
yomig  minister  had  when  ho  arrived  in  London  in  August, 
1803.* 

Joseph  Taylor,  the  first  of  that  name  who  adorns  the  annals 
of  Methodism,  and  in  M'hose  house  he  resided;  Rutlierford,  one 
of  his  former  pastors;  Benjamin  Rhodes,  and  William  Myles, 
were  his  colleagues.  Benson  also  took  up  his  permanent  resi- 
dence in  the  metropolis  as  the  editor  of  the  Magazine.  Creigli- 
ton  was  the  clergyman  who  officiated  at  the  Cha[)el  in  City 
Road;  George  Story, the  general  editor;  Wliitfield,  the  book- 
steward  ;  and  Rodda,  another  well-remembered  pastor,  a  su- 
pernumerary, or  retired  minister. 

This  appointment  was  varied,  during  the  second  year  of  his 
continuance  in  the  circuit,  by  the  substitution  of  Entwisle  for 
*  Sec  letter  to  his  mother,  chapter  i.,  p.  28. 


150  TILE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

Myles,  ami  of  Joseph  Ilallani  for  Rhodes ;  aiid  Mr.  Lotnas  "was 
added  to  the  stafl'of  the  Book-room. 

JosiiPU  Taylok,  Avho  had  been  formally  ordained  by  Wes- 
ley, and  who  had  just  vacated  the  presidential  chair,  was  then 
a  minister  of  twenty-six  years'  standing,  and  labored  for  eight- 
een years  more,  closing  his  career  in  lts;30.  Excessive  zeal  dur- 
ing his  earlier  ituieraney  had  injured  his  health,  and  frequent 
illness  had  given  to  his  appearance  and  exercises  in  the  puli)it 
an  air  of  physical  feebleness.  But  he  had  all  the  faith  and  more 
than  the  love  of  an  Old  Testament  patriarcli.  The  qualities 
which  most  commended  him  to  those  who  knew  him  in  old  age" 
were  industry,  punctuality,  integrity,  strict  self-denial,  and  an 
almost  lavish  benevolence ;  virtues  of  high  separate  value,  and, 
when  combined,  certain  proofs  of  general  excellence  and  sta- 
bility of  character. 

Bexjamix  Kiiodes,  though  placed  imder  Mr.  Taylor's  super- 
intendency,  had  traveled  many  years  longer,  as,  hideed,  had 
Rutherford.  In  those  days  ministerial  seniority  did  not,  with 
the  same  regularity  as  in  ours,  carry  with  it  the  chief  charge  of 
a  circuit.  Wesley,  niore  tlian  most  administrators,  adoj)ted  the 
princij)le  of  "  the  riglit  man  in  tlie  right  place ;"  and  knowing 
well  that,  as  a  rule,  no  man  can  be  expected  to  possess  pre- 
eminent merit  as  at  once  preacher,  pastor,  and  superintendent, 
wliile  on  the  other  hand,  co-i)astoratcs,  properly  arranged,  se- 
cure the  competent  discharge  of  every  function,  allotted  each 
"son  in  the  Gospel"  to  the  post  in  wliich  his  special  talent 
would  be  best  occupied.  Wesley's  immediate  successors  fol- 
lowed his  example.  Would  that  the  people,  who  now  in- 
creasingly interfere  with  the  appointment  of  ministers  to  cir- 
cuits, always  exercised  the  same  sound  discretion!  I  read  in 
the  face  of  Kluxh's,  as  his  portrait  a]»pears  m  the  second  volume 
of  the  Arminian  Magazine,  characteristics  which  his  own  mod- 
est record  of  his  life  does  not  suggest,  but  which  I  should  ex- 
pect to  find  in  the  author  of  the  "•Hymns  on  the  Kingdom  of 
Cln-ist,"  in  the  Supplement  to  Wesley's  Collection.  [P.  583, 
584. J  In  the  heart,  as  on  the  brow  of  the  writer  of  these 
stanzas,  there  must  have  dwelt  a  solemn  and  a  lofty  piety,  an 
earnest  evangelism,  and  a  patient  longing  for  the  coming  of 
the  triumphant  Savior.     He  died  in  1815. 

William  Myles,  one  of  the  historians  of  Methodism,  never 


HIS  EAliLY   MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  151 

lost  the  ardor  and  simplicity  which  at  once  told  he  was  an 
Irishman.  He  traveled  nearly  iifty  years  with  acceptance,  and 
was  one  of  the  eight  }>reachers  a])pointed  by  Wesley's  will  to 
occupy  the  pulpit  of  the  Chapels  in  City  Koad,  London,  and 
in  King  Street,  Bath.  Dr.  Beecham,  liis  biographer,  did  not 
regard  his  talents  as  of  the  highest  order ;  but,  like  many 
others  of  that  race  of  ministers,  though  lacking  the  advantage 
of  an  early  and  a  systematic  education,  he  had  given  both  to 
liis  mind  and  manners  the  best  culture  of  which  they  were 
otherwise  capable.  As  men  of  my  age  remember  hun,  he  was 
venerable,  grave,  and  gentlemanly,  submissively  fond  of  his 
wife,  and  sternly  opposed  to  all  seceders  from  Methodism.  The 
respect  universally  felt  for  him  did  not  prevent  his  friends  from 
practicing  on  his  good-nature.  A  brother  asked  him  one  day, 
"  Who  was  the  father  of  Zebedee's  children  ?"  Myles  pon- 
dered well  the  question,  and  replied,  "  I  believe  it  is  not  re- 
vealed."    lie  died  in  1828. 

Robert  Southey,  in  his  Life  of  Wesley,  has  sketched,  as  only 
he  coiild  sketch,  the  life  and  character  of  George  Stoky. 
Himself  a  patient  student,  he  knew  how  to  prize  the  energy 
with  which  Story  had  tried,  in  early  life,  to  emulate  the  various 
erudition  of  the  murderer,  Eugene  Avam;  an  erudition  re- 
corded by  authentic  tradition  before  Bulwer  wrote  his  won- 
derful tale,  and  Hood  one  of  the  most  powerful  compositions 
in  the  language.  Coleridge,  too,  has  speculated  upon  Story's 
case  in  two  cm'ious  notes  to  Southey's  narrative.*     But  the 


*  Of  a  man  who  moulded  so  many  of  the  greatest  minds  of  his  time,  and 
whose  rich  poetry  haunts  the  car  with  its  delicious  melody,  and  the  heart 
with  its  mysterious  pathos,  one  speaks  with  respectful  modesty.  But  I 
recommend  any  who  shall  refer  to  the  two  notes  in  question  to  compare 
them  one  with  the  other,  and  both  with  Coleridge's  own  experience,  as 
related  by  himself  in  Oilman's  Life  of  the  philosopher  and  poet,  p.  2t5-254:. 
His  disciples  can  not  hide,  and  it  is  very  dilBcult  to  extenuate,  the  terrible 
history  of  their  master's  confessed  slavery  to  a  sensual  vice.  And  who  can 
discern,  in  the  most  fervent  aspirations  of  Methodist  piety,  a  higher  or  a 
truer  standard  (would  that  he  had  known  how  to  aim  at  it !)  than  the  misty 
critic  of  "  Sinless  Perfection"  sets  before  the  eye  rather  of  his  fancy  than  of 
his  faith  ?  It  is  time  that  some  writer  disposed  of  Coleridge's  pretensions 
to  expound  the  philosophy  of  religious  emotion  as  clearly  and  as  succinctly 
as  Mr.  Rigg  has  already  dealt  with  his  theological  system.  ("Modern 
Anglican  Theology."     London:  A.  Ileylin,  1857.)     Some  interesting  no- 


152  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

laureate  nUcrapts  in  vaiu  to  clear  Story  from  tlic  charge  of 
entlmsiasiu  at  the  expense  of  other  Methodists.  Among  all 
the  developments  of  human  thouglit  and  passion  contained  in 
the  volumes  consulted  by  Southey,  there  are  none  more  pecul- 
iar than  that  -which  his  favorite  exhibits.  Had  the  "  Life  of 
Wesley"  been  revised  a  second  time,  it  is  probable  that  South- 
ey's  truth-seeking  spirit  would  have  attahied  more  perfectly 
its  object.  It  is  certain  that,  toward  the  close  of  his  life,  his 
generous,  though  still  nuAvorthy  estimate  of  "Wesley  himself 
rose  much  higher,  though  the  recent  editor  has  not  so  informed 
the  public.  Was  tlie  Curate  of  Cockermouth  ignorant  of  the 
f^ict,  or  does  he  retain  prejudices  reproved  by  the  whole  history 
of  his  father's  oj^inions,  and  by  the  common  sense  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  age? 

I  am  indebted  to  my  venerable  friend,  the  Kev.  Dr.  Leif- 
child,  "for  some  Avise  and  interesting  notices  of  this  period  of 
my  fatlier's  life,  extracted  from  a  paper  of  which  farther  use 
will  be  made. 

"  My  recollections  of  Dr.  Bunting,"  he  writes,  "  carry  me 
back  to  his  first  appearance,  after  his  appointment  to  the  liOn- 
don  Circuit,  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Wesleyan  Chapel  inCitylload. 
lie  was  known  in  the  provinces  as  a  young  preacher  of  great 
promise,  and  a  more  than  ordmary  curiosity  was  manifested  to 
hear  hhn  on  his  coming  to  minister  among  us.  Among  us  I 
say,  for  I  was  then  a  regular  attendant  at  that  place  of  worship, 
and  a  member  of  the  Wesleyan  Society.  In  jierson  lie  was  tall 
and  slender,  of  a  somewhat  pale,  but  thoughtful  and  serious 
countenance,  and  dressed  in  the  plain  but  neat  attire  of  the 
Wesleyan  minsters.  lie  stood  erect  and  firm  in  the  pulpit, 
self-possessed  and  cahn,  but  evidently  impressed  with  the  so- 
lemnity of  what  was  before  him.  On  announcing  the  hymn 
to  be  sung  at  the  commencement  of  the  service,  and  repealing 
it,  verse  by  verse,*  we  were  struck  by  the  clear  and  command- 
ing tones  of  his  voice ;  and,  when  he  bowed  his  knees  in  prayer, 
such  was  the  fervency  of  liis  strains,  and  tlie  propriety,  com- 
])rehf'nsiveness,  and  scriptural  character  of  his  language,  as  to 

tires  of  Colcrid(,'n  contained  in  Dr.  LeifcliiM's  Life  of  Josojili  IIiif,'hes,  of 
Battcrsca,  are  wc'll  worthy  of  jierusal. 

*  Dr.  Leifcliild  doubtless  means  by  two  lines  at  a  time.  The  mode  lie 
names  has  not  yet  received  conucctional  sanction. 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  IN  LONDON.  153 

carry  with  liim,  to  tlie  tlirone  of  the  Great  Being  whom  he 
was  addressing,  tlie  hearts  and  the  understanding  of  the  whole 
assembly.  The  sermon  that  followed  was  of  the  same  charac- 
ter ;  short  in  the  exordium,  natural  and  simple  in  the  division, 
and  terse  in  style,  but  powerful  in  argument  and  appeal. 
There  was  little  of  action  and  less  of  pathos,*  but  a  flow  of 
strong  and  manly  sense,  that  held  the  audience  in  breathless 
attention  till  it  came  to  a  close. 

"Such  was  Dr.  Bunting's  first  appearance  in  the  pulpits  of 
the  metropoUs,  and  such  the  commencement  of  liis  ministerial 
labors  among  us.  After  this  I  heard  him  frequently,  following 
him  from  place  to  place  where  he  ministered  for  the  purpose, 
and  was  always  both  pleased  and  profited.  I  paid  the  closest 
attention  to  the  matter  of  his  discourse  and  to  the  style  of  its 
composition.  I  was  charmed  and  delighted,  while  I  was  in- 
structed. Never  before  had  I  heard  such  preaching.  Other 
preachers,  indeed,  excelled  him  in  some  points,  but  none  that 
I  had  ever  heard  equaled  him  as  a  whole.  There  was  in  him  a 
combmation  of  all  the  requisites  of  a  good  preacher,  but  in 
such  equal  proportion  and  happy  adjustment  that  no  one  ajv 
peared  prominent ;  nor  was  there  any  marked  defect,  to  detract 
from  the  general  excellence.  It  was  not  any  thing  jirofound 
or  original  in  the  matter  that  fixed  the  attention,  but,  like  his 
great  contemporary,  Robert  Hall,  he  clothed  the  well-known 
topics  of  discourse  with  a  propriety  and  felicity  of  diction  that 
gratified  and  instructed,  without  any  of  those  startling  concep- 
tions and  miheard-of  illustrations  which  distinguish  the  ad- 
dresses of  the  celebrated  author  of  the  '  Essays,'  the  late  John 
Foster.  The  plans  of  his  sermons  surjirised  no  one  by  their 
novelty  or  ingenuity,  but  were  always  most  natural,  and  such 
as  would  have  suggested  themselves  to  any  thoughtful  mind, 
wliile  the  discourses  themselves  were  such  as  partook  of  all  the 
sermonizing  peculiarities  of  the  period.  There  were  divisions 
and  subdivisions,  with  formal  exordiums  and  perorations,  which 
yet  were  redeemed  from  every  thmg  like  tameuess  and  insipid- 
ity by  the  distinctness  and  energy  of  the  thoughts  and  expres- 

*  This  allusion  to  want  of  pathos  somewhat  surprises  me.  But  my  hon- 
ored friend  is  describing  inijiressions  formed  more  than  fifry  years  ago.  Or, 
perhaps,  a  heart  so  full  of  evangelical  tenderness  was  not  easily  satisfied 
with  any  expression  of  it. 

G2 


154  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

sious.  You  saw  no  deep  emotion  in  the  speaker,  no  enthusi- 
astic bursts  of  passion,*  nor  brilliant  strokes  of  imagination, 
but  you  perceived  a  marked  attention  riveted  upon  him  while 
he  spoke,  which  never  flagged  nor  decreased  in  its  intensity- 
till  he  closed  and  sat  down.  I  can  not  describe  the  cadences 
of  his  voice,  which  combined  in  it  a  sharpness  and  a  sweetness 
that  I  have  never  met  with  in  any  other,  and  that  yet  dwells 
upon  my  ears. 

"  I  ought  not  to  omit  to  mention  the  beneficial  results  of  his 
ministry.  To  many  it  was  '  the  power  of  God'  to  their '  salva- 
tion.' One  of  my  own  sisters  was  an  instance  of  this.  She 
afterward  became  as  partial  to  hun  as  I  myself  was,  and  re- 
ceived that  blessing,  through  his  instrumentality,  which  trans- 
formed her  character  and  adorned  her  life  imtil  its  peaceful  and 
happy  close. 

"He  could  not  but  be  aware  of  my  frequent  appearance 
among  his  auditors,  and,  on  that  account,  favored  me  with  his 
notice,  often  allowhig  me  to  walk  home  with  him,  after  the 
services,  to  his  own  residence,  and  discoursing  with  me  by  the 
way  in  the  most  friendly  manner.  It  was  on  one  of  these  oc- 
casions that  I  ventured  to  mquire  of  him  how  he  had  attained 
to  that  remarkable  readiness  and  accuracy  in  speaking  which  I, 
in  common  Avith  many  others,  had  so  constantly  observed.  He 
replied  that  he  was  not  aware  of  such  lacility  and  exactness; 
but  that,  if  it  were  so,  it  nmst  arise  fi'om  a  habit  he  had  formed 
at  a  very  early  period  of  expressing  himself  on  every  topic, 
however  trivial  or  common,  in  the  fewest  and  most  suitable 
terms  he  could  find.  Thus  was  produced  one  of  his  great  \)C- 
culiarities.  He  was  never  at  a  loss  for  a  word  exactly  suited 
to  the  thought.  I  remember,  on  one  occasion,  accompanying 
some  students  for  the  muiistry  to  hear  him  on  a  week-day  even- 
ing, Avith  a  challenge  to  detect,  if  it  were  possible,  such  a  dis- 
crepancy. On  a  comparison  of  notes  afterward,  it  was  fomid 
that  not  a  single  instance  of  the  kind  could  be  adduced. 

"He  showed  great  candor  and  liberality  of  feeling  toward 
olliei-s  of  dificrent  sentiments  from  his  own  m  all  those  matters 
of  religious  faith  and  practice  that  do  not  touch  upon  any  thing 
essential  or  fundamental.  As  a  proof  of  this,  I  may  state  that, 
of  all  his  colleagues  in  the  circuit  at  that  time,  he  was  the  only 
*  Again  I  suggest  tlie  <niiilirifations  mentioned  in  the  last  note. 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  165 

one  who  did  not  take  offense  at  some  alteration  in  my  views  of 
doctrine  and  discipline,  leading  at  length  into  a  com'se  of  jjrep- 
aration  for  the  ministry  in  another  denomination.  Instead  of 
this,  after  hearing  me  once  or  twice  in  my  early  ministrations, 
he  said  to  me  in  the  kindest  manner, '  From  some  of  your  sen- 
timents and  modes  of  expression,  I  judge  you  would  be  more 
happy  in  another  connection  than  in  ours,  and  equally  useful; 
at  which  I  should  rejoice.'  " 

I  gain  a  fuller  insight  into  my  father's  daily  thoughts  and 
ways  at  this  period  than  during  any  other  portion  of  his  early 
life.  For  some  four  or  five  months  the  lovers  in  London  and 
in  Macclesfield  corresponded  as  lovers  only  do,  and  sent,  each 
to  the  other,  a  diary  of  what  happened.  Most  of  the  letters 
and  journals  are  preserved,  and  I  cull  some  extracts  from  those 
he  wrote,  interweavuig  with  them  extracts  from  other  letters, 
and  interposmg  here  and  there  a  passing  comment.  It  may  be 
assimied  that  he  addi'esses  his  intended  wife,  unless  the  contra- 
ry be  stated. 

'■'•  Augicst  26^A,  1803.  This  morning  I  attended  the  meeting 
of  all  the  London  preachers,  which  is  held  at  City  Road  every 
Saturday,  to  fix  the  plans  of  the  ensuing  week,  to  transact  the 
incidental  business  of  our  own  circuit,  and  to  give  advice  to  any 
preachers  from  the  country  xoho  choose  to  a/pply  for  itP  The 
words  which  I  have  placed  in  italics  suggest  the  idea  of  a  cen- 
tral committee,  of  course,  for  coimsel  only,  which  the  necessities 
of  the  connection  then  sanctioned,  and  which,  I  believe,  never 
ceased,  in  one  form  or  another,  to  occupy  my  fiither's  mind. 
On  the  occasion  of  his  election,  for  the  third  time,  to  the  presi- 
dency, he  formally  requested  that  a  CouncU  of  Advice  might 
be  appointed,  to  assist  him,  during  the  year,  in  the  administra- 
tion of  connectional  affairs,  and  to  relieve  him  from  indiWdual 
responsibihty. 

'•''Sunday  Evening^  August  2%th.  At  V  o'clock  A.M.I  heard 
Mr.  Taylor,  at  the  City  Road  Chapel,  from  Micah,  vi,,  6.  After 
preaching,  several  traveling  and  a  great  number  of  local  preach- 
ers breakfasted  together,  according  to  custom  ;  and,  after  con- 
sultation and  i^rayer,  we  all  proceeded  to  our  respective  ap- 
pomtments.  What  our  local  brethren  in  London  are  as  preach- 
ers, I  can  not  tell ;  but  out  of  the  pulpit  they  appear  to  great 
advantage  indeed,  as  pious,  sensible,  and  Avell-read  men.    I  went 


156  THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

to  Lambetli.  I  i)rcacliO(l  from  1  Peter,  v.,  T,  witli  considerable 
comfort  to  myself,  and,  I  humljly  hope,  Avith  some  profit  to  tlie 
])eople.  I  like  very  much  the  spirit  and  manners  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Lambeth  society,  with  whom  I  had  some  con- 
versation before  and  after  the  service.  I  tliiidc  I  shall  be  quite 
charmed  with  the  London  Methodists  when  I  can  become  more 
^miliar  with  them.  I  believe  it  is  one  of  my  faults  to  form  at- 
tachments too  strong  and  tender  for  a  man  who  is  literally  a 
sojourner  only,  and  a  pilgrim,  as  all  his  fiithers  were.  Howev- 
er, if  warm  friendships  have  their  pains,  they  have  their  peculiar 
pleasures  also.  This  evening  I  have  been  at  Queen  Street.  I 
preached  from  Acts,  iii.,  26,  with  much  comfort  and  enlargement 
of  mind.  I  was  delighted  to  see  so  full  an  attendance  after- 
Avard  at  the  Society  meeting.  This  is  here  just  as  it  ought  to 
be  every  where. 

'■'■Monday  Evening^  August  29th.  I  rambled  for  an  hour 
among  the  booksellers'  shops  in  Paternoster  Row,  and  at 
Bajnies's  was  overpowered  by  temptation.  I  spent  all  the 
money  I  had  in  my  pocket,  which  fortunately  was  not  much.  I 
])reaclied  at  Hoxton,  not  at  all  to  my  satisfaction,  from  Romans, 
viii.,  2.  What  contributed,  perhaps,  to  my  embarrassment  of 
mind  was  the  unexpected  presence  of  Mr.  Rodda,  and  of  Mr. 
Benson  and  his  family.  How  completely  are  we  dependent  in 
preaching,  as  in  every  other  duty,  on  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
One!  My  subject  was  one  ])crfcctly  familiar  to  me,  and  my 
0A\Ti  mind  was  previously  in  a  good  and  spiritual  frame,  but  yet 
I  wanted  my  usual  liberty,  because  He  who  doeth  all  things 
well  and  wisely  withlield,  for  some  good  reason,  that  special 
assistance  which  he  often  condescends  to  afford.  Mr.  Benson 
very  importunately  urges  me  to  prepare,  for  insertion  hi  the 
next  January  Magazme,  an  accomit  of  my  conversion,  experi- 
ence, and  entrance  into  the  ministry ;  but,  as  this  account  would 
contain  nothing  new  or  out  of  the  common  way,  and  as  I  sin- 
cerely wish  to  avoid,  rather  than  to  court,  publicity,  I  hope  I 
shall  be  excused  from  such  a  task.  There  is,  indeed,  an  old  rule 
of  Conference  which  requires  it  from  the  preachers  who  arc 
ailmitted  into  full  connection ;  but,  as  others  have  broken  it, 
wliy  may  not  I? 

"  Tuesday,  August  ?,Oili.  I  quite  enjoyed  my  retirement  the 
former  part  of  this  day,  and  fomid  it  specially  good  to  hold  con- 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  157 

verso  with  God.  In  praying  for  myself,  for  my  clear  S.,  for  my 
kind  friends  at  Manchester  and  Macclesfield,  and  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  good  work  m  this  city  and  circuit,  I  had  more 
than  usual  access  to  God,  and  Avas  greatly  strengthened  and  re- 
freshed. I  was  particularly  led  to  implore  the  Divine  forgive- 
ness of  all  my  sms  of  omission  and  commission  as  a  man  and 
as  a  minister  while  in  the  circuit  I  have  lately  left,  and  I  be- 
heve  that  my  prayer  is  heard,  and  that  I  am  '  accei^ted  in  the 
Beloved.' 

'■'■Wednesday  Evening^  August  31s^.  I  have  preached  at 
Qi;een  Street  to  a  large  congregation  from  Hebrews,  iv.,  14.  I 
afterward  met  the  leaders,  who  are  very  numerous  and  respect- 
able, in  this  part  of  the  to-\\ai.  In  such  a  leaders'  meeting  I 
never  presided  before.  But  Methodism  here  is,  hke  every 
thing  else,  conducted  on  a  large  scale.  They  exceed  all  other 
societies  I  ever  knew  in  the  hberal  provision  they  make  for 
their  poor. 

"  Sunday  Eveyiing^  Septemher  4th.  My  texts  to-day  have 
been  the  same  as  last  Simday.  I  had  fixed  on  others,  but, 
when  I  saw  my  congregation,  I  judged  them  imsuitable.  In  the 
pulpit  I  had  no  considerable  enlargement  of  mind,  but  I  hope, 
nevertheless,  that  somethmg  was  said  which  may  appear  to 
praise,  and  honor,  and  glory  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  now  farewell  to  this  Sabbath  tUl  the  Day  of  Judgment ! 
God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner ! 

'•'•  3Ionday  Evening^  Septemher  5th.  This  has  been  a  day  of 
much  temptation  and  depression.  O  Lord,  I  am  oppressed  ; 
midertake  for  me. 

"  Wednesday  Evening^  Septemher  1th.  This  morning,  after 
breakfast,  I  had  my  box  and  bags,  etc.,  conveyed  to  City  Road, 
where  I  have  now  taken  up  my  abode.  How  soon  I  may  be 
dislodged  by  death,  God  only  knows.  May  I  be  prepared  for 
every  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence!  In  this  house,  O 
Lord,  give  peace !  May  it  be  to  me,  and  to  all  who  are,  or 
shall  be,  my  fellow-tenants  of  it,  none  other  than  the  house  of 
God  and  the  gate  of  Heaven !  And  may  I  be  ^jrepared  more 
fiiUy  for  the  realms  of  bliss  that  are  above !  Truly,  in  one 
point,  they  treat  us  somewhat  like  apostles  in  this  circuit ;  they 
work  us  tolerably  hard.  He  that  wants  a  quiet  and  easy  life 
must  not  come  hither  to  find  it.     I  believe  it  will  be  utterly 


168  TUE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

impracticable  to  study  much  here,  a  circmnstance  still  more 
unpleasant  by  i'ar  than  tlie  fatigue  of  our  evenhig  walks.  The 
only  science  we  shall  have  luueh  time  to  cultivate  will  be  that 
which  consists  in  iinding  the  way  from  one  street,  and  chapel, 
and  village  to  another.  I  have  hitherto  had  no  leisure  at  all  to 
tlmik  of  new  texts,  or  even  to  mend  many  of  my  old  nets,  and 
am  therefore  obhged  to  i)reaeh  on  those  subjects  which  happen 
to  be  at  present  most  famihar  to  my  mind. 

"  Thursday  Evening^  Septemher  8th.  I  was  so  weary  and 
di'owsy  this  morning  at  5  o'clock  that,  though  I  heard  Mr. 
Taylor  gomg  out  to  preach,  I  had  neither  curiosity  enough,  nor 
piety  enough,  to  rise  and  hear  him.  To-morrow  I  nuist  be  uj), 
as  it  will  be  my  ovai  turn  to  conduct  the  early  devotions  of  the 
sanctuary.  The  whole  of  the  forenoon  was  spent  with  Mr. 
Taylor  in  meeting  classes.  At  4  P.M.  I  went  to  assist  Mr. 
Benson  in  givmg  tickets  in  Little  Tower  Street,  and  at  6  P.M. 
at  the  New  Chapel  vestry.  City  Road.  At  7,  Avithout  much 
time  for  previous  prayer  or  other  preparation,  I  made  my  first 
appearance  in  the  pulpit  there.  I  was  not  violently  shocked, 
though  the  congregation  was  very  large,  and  I\Iessrs.  Benson, 
Rankin,  Rodda,  Dr.  AVhitehead,  Dr.  Hamilton,  and  other  gen- 
tlemen of  the  same  description  composed  a  i)art  of  it.  My 
text  was  1  Peter,  v.,  7,  which  has,  of  late,  become  a  favorite 
subject.  This  has  been  one  of  ray  best  times  as  to  freedom  m 
public  duty  since  I  arrived  in  London.  I  hope  I  may  regard 
this  circumstance  as  a  token  for  good.  I  afterward  met  the 
Bands,  but  was  rather  disappointed  in  my  expectations  from 
them.  Such  is  the  chronicle  of  this  day's  proceedings:  how 
uninteresting  to  others,  yet  how  important  to  myself,  if  consid- 
ered in  connection  with  my  future  account  to  the  Judge  of 
quick  and  dead ! 

'■'■  Fridaij  Evening,  September  Qth.  I  was  very  unfortunate 
this  morning.  I  did  not  rise,  for  I  did  not  wake,  after  daylight 
appeared,  until  half  jjast  5  o'clock.  The  man  promised  to  call 
me  at  half  i)ast  4,  but  did  not.  I  never  before  connnitted  such 
a  slothful  blunder,  sleeper  as  I  am.  However,  it  does  not  ai)i)ear 
to  have  been  of  much  consequence.  They  seem  to  have  been 
accustomed  to  such  disappointments  for  some  years ;  so  that, 
when  Mr.  Taylor  i)reached  yesterday,  and  informed  them  that 
they  might  expect  me  this  morning,  Mr.  Lovelace,  an  old  worn- 


IIIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  159 

out  barrister,  coiild  not  heli)  expressing  his  belief  that  '  now 
there  would  be  a  revival  in  London,  for  there  had  been  little 
good  done  since  the  morning  preaching  had  been  discontinued, 
and  that  the  abandonment  of  this  practice  Avas  the  true  cause 
of  the  present  war.'  I  counted  the  congregation  as  they  came 
out  (for  they  held  a  prayer-meetmg),  and  foimd  them  just  twen- 
ty-one ;  but  this  was  an  extraordinary  number,  nearly  one  half 
of  whom  were  drawn  to  the  chapel  by  their  curiosity  to  hear 
the  new  preacher.  Mr.  Taylor  could  not  scold  me  for  my  lazi- 
ness, for  he  himself  Avas  overtaken  in  the  same  fault  last  Friday. 
Another  week  is  noAV  nearly  gone ;  a  week  certainly  of  many 
mercies,  but  a  week  of  much  inward  exercise  and  frequent  de- 
jection. O  Lord,  arise,  help  and  deliver  me,  for  Thy  Name's 
sake. 

'•''  Septemher  10(h.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  you  experience 
such  frequent  dejiression  of  spirits.  I  am  Avell  quahfied  to  sym- 
pathize with  you.  Ever  since  I  became  a  preacher,  I  have  been 
particularly  harassed,  at  tunes,  by  an  unaccountable,  irresistible 
tendency  to  gloominess  and  dejection.  I  always  find  private 
prayer  and  reading  the  Scrii^tures  on  my  knees  the  best  remedy 
in  my  own  case,  and  I  earnestly  recommend  it  to  you.  At  the 
same  time,  let  us  strive  to  cast  every  care  upon  God,  and  to 
believe  that  he  careth  for  us,  and  Avill  order  all  things  well. 
I  can  not  but  be  pleased  to  hear  that  you  have  disposed  of  your 
gaudy  cloak.  Avoid  '  the  appearance  of  evil,'  and  '  give  none 
offense,  neither  to  the  Jews,  nor  to  the  Gentiles,  nor  to  the 
Church  of  God,'  with  tAvo  or  three  other  Scriptural  sentiments 
of  like  tendency,  are  maxims  to  Avhich,  I  doubt  not,  you  Avill 
endeavor  to  attend  ui  the  article  of  dress.  Some  of  the  London 
Methodists  are  by  far  too  gay.  Others  are  very  plain.  But, 
though  a  private  individual  may  be  lost  in  the  sm-roundmg 
crowd,  a  preacher's  wife  is  as  a  city  on  a  hill,  that  can  not  be 
hid. 

"  Saturday  JVzg/it,  September  10th.  I  returned  from  the  city 
just  in  time  for  the  Penitents'  meetmg  at  City  Road.  Mr. 
Taylor,  Dr.  Hamilton,  and  Mr.  Rankin  prayed,  and  I  Avas  then 
obhged,  according  to  appointment,  to  ascend  the  pulpit  and 
address  the  people.  All  tlie  Aveek  I  had  looked  forAvard  to  this 
engagement  Avitli  fear  and  tremblmg,  and  I  Avas  very  Ioav  Avhen 
the  time  of  action  arrived.     But  I  looked  to  the  Strong:  for 


160         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

Strength,  and  got  through  better  than  I  expected.  I  found  it 
best  to  fix  my  mind  on  some  particular  subject,  and  selected 
'Tlie  Marks  or  Fruits  of  true  Conviction.'  After  all,  I  am  sat- 
isfied that  I  liave  but  little  talent  for  this  sort  of  general  exhort- 
ation. This  meetmg  is  numerously  attended  by  our  most  pious 
and  intelligent  friends,  and  a  special  unction  from  the  Holy  One 
appears  to  attend  it. 

"I  am  quite  diverted  by  the  comments  which  have  been 
made  on  my  first  sermon  at  the  New  Chapel.  One  says  it  was 
a  good  sermon,  but  too  labored,  and  that  I  study  too  much ; 
another,  that  it  was  delivered  Avith  too  much  rapidity ;  a  third, 
that  there  was  too  much  use  of  Scriptural  phraseology ;  a  fourtli, 
that  there  was  rather  too  much  animation  of  voice  and  manner; 
a  fifth,  that  I  shall  suit  London  very  well,  for  that  I  don't  rant 
and  rave  in  the  pulpit,  but  am  calm  and  rational.  This  y\']nm- 
sical  diversity  of  opmions  I  have  heard  from  different  persons, 
chiefly  preachers,  to-day.  I  feel  very  indillerent  to  human  cen- 
sure or  applause.  The  great  point  is  to  stand  ai)})roved  of 
God ;  to  hear  my  Master  say,  '  Well  done ;'  to  give  an  accei)t- 
ablc  '  answer  to  Him  that  sent  me.' " 

Dn.  James  Hamilton,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph, and  resident  at  this  time  in  London,  died  in  1827,  in 
the  8Vth  year  of  his  age.  A  sketch,  by  Kay  of  Edinburgh,  of 
Joseph  Cole,  Hamilton,  and  Wesley,  walking  in  the  streets  of 
that  city,  preserves  the  memory  of  a  long  and  intmiate  friend- 
ship between  the  two  last-named  wortliies.  After  having 
served  as  a  sm-geon  in  the  Navy,  and  seen  desperate  fighting, 
Hamilton  settled  at  Dunbar,  and,  as  Henry  Moore  records, 
"joined  the  INIethodist  Society  without  separating  from  the 
National  Church."  "  On  his  first  marriage  he  not  only  made 
the  day,  in  trutli,  a  lioly-day,  but  brought  his  bride  with  liim 
to  llie  prayer-meeting  in  the  evening."  He  removed  to  Leeds, 
and  eventually  to  the  metropolis.  He  practiced  not  more  as  a 
physician  than  as  a  preacher  and  an  evangelist.  Two  of  his 
sons  held  commissions  in  a  Highland  regiment:  one  died  in 
Egyj»t  of  a  fever;  tho  other,  after  i-xc-hanging  regiments,  and 
iollowing  AW'lIington  through  the  Peninsula,  was  mortally 
Avounded.  "  I  speak,"  says  Moore,  "  as  little  as  possible  of  the 
advantages  which  lie  derived  fi'om  the  first  Adam.  To  make 
'a  fair  sliow  in  the  flesh,'  he  well  knew,  was  opposed  to  'glo- 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  161 

ry'mg  in  the  Cross  of  Christ,'  and  therein  we  were  perfectly  of 
one  mind ;  but  having  mentioned  some  gf  those  providential 
advantages,  there  is  one  which,  I  think,  I  ought  not  to  omit ; 
I  mean  his  personal  appearance,  deportment,  and  manners, 
which  would  have  adorned  any  rank  in  himian  society.  These 
are  gifts  which  call  for  the  highest  foithfulness,  as  they  are  em- 
inently '  the  savor  of  life  or  of  death'  to  those  who  possess 
them,  as  well  as  to  those  concerning  whom  they  are  exercised, 
and  especially  in  a  reUgious  community."  "  When  he  resided 
at  Leeds,"  says  the  apostolic  James  Wood,  "he  attended  in 
the  vestry  of  the  Old  Chapel  one  day  in  every  week,  where  the 
poor  liad  full  liberty  to  apply  for  his  advice."  I  have  seen  hini 
in  the  pulpit,  tall,  but  with  an  habitual  stoop ;  m  a  plaintive 
tone,  and  in  imadulterated  Scotch,  pom'ing  out  his  heart  to 
God  and  man.  The  blessing  of  his  life-long  excellence  rests 
manifestly  upon  his  grandson,  the  Rev.  James  Parsons,  of  York. 

Of  the  life  of  Kaukin,  another  of  the  many  troj^hies  of  Meth- 
odism in  Scotland,  liis  own  account  will  be  found  in  the  thii'd 
volume  of  "  The  Lives  of  Early  Methodist  Preachers." 

''^Sunday  Evening^  ^eptemher  11th.  At  half  past  10  I  read 
prayers  at  Snowsfields  Chapel,  in  the  Borough,  and  jsreached 
from  1  John,  i.,  9.  I  begm  to  feel  a  Httle  more  at  home  in  the 
pulpits  of  the  metropolis  and  its  vicinity  than  I  did  when  I  first 
came.  I  dined  with  a  Mr.  Watson,  near  Rowland  Hill's  Chapel, 
Surrey  Road.  The  congregation  were  just  coming  out  as  we 
passed  the  doors.  What  an  immense  crowd  of  gay  people ! 
But  no  wonder ;  Mr.  Jay  had  been  their  preacher.  I  must  con- 
trive to  hear  him  while  he  is  in  town.  At  3  o'clock  I  began  to 
give  tickets  at  Rotherhithe.  At  6  I  preached  there  from  Luke, 
XV.,  2,  and  was  enabled,  as  Mr.  Wesley  used  to  phrase  it,  to 
'  speak  some  strong,  rough  words.'  After  finishing  the  renew- 
al of  the  tickets,  I  walked  home ;  Mr.  Taylor  came  a  httle  after 
me ;  and*  says  this  has  been  the  hardest  day's  work  he  has  ever 
performed  since  he  left  Cornwall,  many  years  ago.  We  tried 
to  rouse  each  other  by  singmgto  Beaimiont's  tune,  to  which  he 
is  as  partial  as  myself, 

"  '  O  may  Thy  Spirit  seal,'  etc.,* 


"  O  m.iy  Thy  Spii-it  seal 
Our  souls  unto  that  day ; 


162  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

but  had  not  strength  enough  left  to  finish  the  verse.  So  we 
gave  it  up,  and  began  to  talk  about  Macclesfield.  Well,  all  is 
right.  'Labor  is  rest,  and  pain  is  sweet,'  for  Ilini  whom  we 
have  the  honor  to  serve  in  the  Gospel  of  His  Son.  My  Sab- 
baths, though  my  most  laborious  days,  are  usually  my  best  and 
happiest  days.  The  service  of  God  is  its  o^vni  immediate  re- 
ward. Yet  I  have  need  to  say, '  Pardon  the  iniquity  of  my  holy 
things !' 

'■'-Monday  Emning^  September  I2th.  At  9  o'clock  I  went  to 
Cateaton  Street,  but  had  only  my  labor  for  my  pains.  Return- 
ing by  Guildhall,  I  stepped  in  and  saw  the  lord-mayor,  sheriffs, 
recorder,  etc.,  open  the  Quarter  Sessions.  I  heard  one  trial  for 
a  petty  assault,  which  was  not  in  itself  at  all  interesting,  but 
was  rendered  important  by  the  subsequent  circumstances.  The 
witnesses  for  the  prosecutor  most  explicitly  and  directly  contra- 
dicted those  for  the  defendant,  so  that,  on  one  side  or  the  other, 
there  was  the  blackest  perjury.  This  gave  occasion,  of  course, 
to  the  counsel  (Knapp  and  Pooley)  to  display  their  ingenuity, 
and  they  both  spoke  very  ably.  But  how  much  more  interest- 
mg  and  dignified  is  the  eloquence  of  the  pulpit  than  that  of  the 
bar !" 

I  am  not  sure  that  my  fiither's  comparison  can  be  fairly  in- 
stituted. Between  such  forensic  oratory  as  that  to  which  he 
listened  and  the  genuine  eloquence  of  the  pulpit  there  is  no  re- 
lation except  that  of  positive  contrast,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
some  sermons,  in  clearness  of  arrangement,  lucidity  of  state- 
ment, earnestness  of  spirit,  and  coutmuous  aim  at  a  well-defined 
object,  are  immeasurably  inferior  to  the  speeches  wliich  are 
heard  daily  in  courts  of  justice.  I  speak  not  of  petty  wran- 
glings  in  crimhial  courts  or  at  "  Nisi  Prius,"  but  of  tlie  ap})oals 
addressed  to  juries  on  great  occasions,  and  especially  of  those 
solemn  argumentations  with  which  astute  lawyers,  scholars, 
and  logicians  ply  the  quick  but  cautious  intellects  of  judges 
on  the  bench.  To  me,  who  have  conversed  much  with  each 
kind  of  eloquence,  it  has  often  seemed  that  those  modei-n  preach- 

With  all  Thy  fullness  fill, 

And  then  transport  away  ! 
Away  to  our  eternal  rest,  . 

Away  to  our  Kcdccmcr's  breast!" 

Wesley's  Collection,  p.  477. 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  163 

ers  who  make  it  their  study  to  ticlde  "  itching  ears,"  might  gain 
much  if  they  cultivated  the  simpUcity  of  speech  without  which 
no  man  rises  to  high  distuiction  at  the  English  bar.  ■  We  per- 
plex ourselves  greatly  with  the  question  why  the  pulpit,  with 
its  long-estabhshed  hold  upon  the  superstition  of  the  ignorant 
and  upon  the  reverence  of  the  good,  and  with  its  various  range 
of  momentous  topics,  makes  an  impression  so  comparatively 
small  upon  the  masses  with  which  it  deals.  Beardless  scioUsts 
and  bold  adventurers  try  to  revive  and  mcrease  the  popular  in- 
terest in  preaching  by  degrading  its  dignity  and  by  secularizing 
its  sacred  themes,  Avliile  multitudes  of  well-meanmg  clergy,  of 
all  schools  withm  the  EstabUshment,  and  of  all  sects  ovit  of  it, 
by  some  conventional  mannerism  of  style  or  of  deUvery,  or  by 
the  constant  effort  to  produce  startUng  effects,  or  by  vapid  pret- 
tinesses  of  phrase  and  figure,  expect  to  storm  the  consciences  of 
sinful  men,  and  to  frighten  or  to  cheat  them  mto  piety.  None 
of  these  artifices  will  succeed.  They  are  very  ancient  novel- 
ties. The  common  people  have  always  distrusted  them ;  and 
plain  sense  nowadays  stares,  and  asks  wliy  an  honest  man  should 
vulgarize  the  great  thought  of  God,  or  search  for  thoughts  more 
true  and  telling ;  or  why,  because  the  preacher  stands  some  six 
feet  higher  than  his  usual  level,  he  should  assume  mmatural  at- 
titudes, speak  m  a  false  voice,  gesticulate  in  a  manner  which,  if 
used  at  home,  Avould  scare  his  loving  household  ;  or,  worse  than 
all,  attempt  to  woo  dying  sinners  with  the  story  of  the  dying- 
Savior,  m  the  modes  practiced  by  a  clever  mountebank  extem- 
porizing at  a  country  fair.  A  marked  and  constant  simjyUci- 
^y^the  test  of  sincerity  in  the  pulpit ;  the  manifestation  of  the 
truth,  with  manifest  truthfulness  of  purpose — this  of  itself  would 
do  much  to  excite  the  spirit  of  hearing.  The  advocate  at  the 
bar  is  intensely  sincere.  He  means  to  gain  the  cause ;  and  so 
it  is  his  prime  business  to  he  helieved ;  and  the  wish  breathes  in 
every  look  and  word.  How  would  the  cool-headed  judge  sur- 
vey him  through  the  dctectmg  eye-glass,  if  every  gesture,  tone,^ 
and  sentence  were  altogether  unhke  the  man  who  used  them ! 
"  Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  cro^Ti." 

'■'■Friday  Evening^  Sept.  16tk.  If  I  must  give  a  true  and 
faithful  account  of  the  manner  in  which  this  day  has  been  spent, 
I  must  say  that  it  has  been  almost  wholly  occupied  in  going 
from  place  to  place,  to  make  calls  of  business  and  calls  of  friend- 


164  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

ship.  I  wcut,  first  of  all,  to  deliver  a  letter  from  a  friend  in 
Manchester  to  a  sister  of  hers  in  liathbone  Place,  Oxford  Street. 
Tliis  poor  Avonuin  had  buried  her  husband  only  yesterday ;  and 
I  spent  a  prolitable  half  hour  hi  conifortmg  and  praying  with 
lier.  '  It  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning  than  to  go 
to  the  house  of  feasting.'  Then  to  St.  Martin's  Lane,  to  sec  an 
old  acquaintance  of  my  father  and  mother.  lie  came  original- 
ly from  the  same  place  with  them  (Monyash,  in  the  Peak  of 
Derbyshire),  and  is  now  a  local  preaclier  among  us.  I  had  not 
much  personal  knowledge  of  him,  but  remembered  that  precejJt 
of  Solomon,  'Thy  own,  and  thy  father's  friend,  forsake  not.' 
Then  to  Mr.  Bruce's,  in  Aldersgato  Street,  where  I  dined  and 
took  tea.  Tliis  is  a  most  agreeable  family,  and  we  had  much 
pious,  rational,  and  improving  conversation.  Then  to  Mr.  Bul- 
mer's,  in  Friday  Street.  This  gentleman  is  a  very  leading  man 
in  the  society.  I  had  several  times  seen  him  and  Mrs.  B.  in 
Lancashire.  I  suppose  the  j^etition  from  this  circuit  for  me 
was  sent  chiefly  at  his  instance.  Such  have  been  some  of  my 
peregrinations  tliis  day.  I  returned  in  time  to  begin  the  prayer- 
meeting  at  City  Road.  There  were  many  people,  and  much 
of  the  spirit  of  praj'cr.  I  am  more  and  more  charmed  with 
the  piety  and  fervency  of  Dr.  Hamilton.  His  prayer  to-night 
would,  I  think,  have  affected  and  softened  even  an  infidel,  at 
least  for  the  time.  Though  I  do  not  know  that  I  could,  with 
jn'opriety,  have  avoided  any  of  the  visits  I  have  made  to-day, 
yet  I  own  that  I  review  them  with  some  degree  of  dissatisfac- 
tion. I  regret  the  time  thus  unnecessarily  consumed,  and  hope 
I  shall  not  soon  again  be  compelled  to  rob  my  study  and  my 
books  of  so  many  leisure  hours.  I  find  that  the  bed  Avliich 
now  stands  in  my  room  is  that  formerly  occupied  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley when  he  was  in  London,  and  on  which  he  finished  his  tri- 
umijhant  course.  This  circumstance,  small  as  it  is,  allbrds  to 
me,  who  am  '  a  bigoted  3Iethodist,^  considerable  i)leasure.  I 
feel  it  an  honor,  of  which  I  am  uinvorthy,  to  be  JMr.  Wesley's 
successor  in  any  thing. 

"  Wednesday  Momivg^  Sept.  2^.s^  I  am  unfortunate  as  to  the 
morning  jjreaching.  I  was  up  in  time,  but,  when  I  came  to  the 
doors,  found  them  so  variously  and  so  curiously  locked,  barred, 
and  chained,  that  I  could  not,  for  the  life  of  me,  open  any  one 
of  them.     In  order  to  save  my  character  and  credit,  I  called 


HIS   EAKLY  MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  165 

tlirougli  the  gates  to  Dr.  Hamilton,  who  was  waitmg  my  ap- 
pearance, and  desired  hmi  to  begin  the  service.  At  length  the 
servant  came  down  and  set  me  at  liberty.  I  began  preaching 
to  eight  persons,  and,  when  I  concluded,  could  muster  only 
thirteen.  My  text  Avas  Psalm  Ivii.,  1.  The  preacher  and  his 
sermon,  dull  as  they  w^ere,  were  apparently  not  more  duU  than 
most  of  his  audience.  However,  Dr.  Hamilton  prayed  most 
sweetly  when  I  had  done,  and  tliis  well  repaid  me.  I  am  glud 
to  have  so  good  an  account  of  your  habitual  frame  and  state  of 
mind.  Your  prosperity,  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal,  I  most 
ardently  d(3sire,  and  daily  pray  for  to  the  God  of  all  grace. 
Your  chief  danger,  I  think,  arises  from  your  natural  vivacity. 
This  is  in  itself  a  great  blessing,  but  it  may  degenerate  into  a 
source  of  mischief  and  danger.  Give  yourself,  my  very  dear  S., 
to  much  prayer,  and  learn,  by  habits  of  fellowship  with  God,  to 
be  '  never  less  alone  than  when  alone.'  I  have  reproached  my- 
self for  speaking  in  my  last  too  strongly  about  your  preceding- 
letter.  I  forgot,  at  the  moment,  that  you  were  writing  to  me, 
and  indulged  yourself,  on  that  account,  in  a  degree  of  playful- 
ness Avhich  you  would  not  have  allowed  imder  other  circum- 
stances. But  we  are  both  so  prone  to  err  on  that  side  that  we 
shall  do  w^ell  to  be  on  our  guard.  You  know  I  am  no  cynic, 
no  advocate  for  '  sour  godliness,^  as  Mr.  Wesley  terms  it ;  but 
I  desire  not  to  be  found  a  trifler.  We  may  laugh  away  m  five 
minutes  that  spirituality  and  heaverily-mindedness  which  we 
may  weep  whole  days  and  weeks  before  we  fully  regain.  I 
think  you  vn^  not  be  displeased  by  the  freedom  which  I  have 
used  on  this  subject.  I  shall  be  thanlcful  to  receive  from  you 
any  cautions  and  advices  which  you  think  I  need.  Watch  over 
me  in  love,  and  prove  yourself,  by  telling  me  of  all  that  you 
think  is  wi'ong  in  me,  a  faithful  friend. 

"  Wednesday  Evening,  September  list.  After  finishing  my 
letters,  I  hastened  to  St.  Mary  Woolnoth,  in  Lombard  Street, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  and  hearing,  for  the  first  time, 
the  rector,  Mr.  Newton,  '  venerable  in  virtues  as  hi  age.'  He 
appears  to  be  quite  worn  out,  .and  tottering  over  the  brink  of 
the  grave.  His  text  was,  '  Rejoice  the  soul  of  Thy  servant.' 
There  was  nothing  particularly  interesting  m  his  sermon,  ex- 
cept as  viewed  in  connection  with  the  character  and  cu'cmn- 
stances  of  the  preacher.     I  love  to  hear  old  ministers.     In  the 


iOO  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   JiUNTING. 

evening  I  preached  at  Stratford  from  1  Peter,  iii.,  15.  I  liavc 
traveleel  like  a  gentleman  to-day.  I  monnted  the  Stratford 
stage  at  Whitechapel,  as  I  went,  and  as  I  was  ahont  to  return 
I  met  Avith  a  London  chaise,  and  rode  hi  it  within  half  a  mile 
of  home.  Thus  I  have  saved  my  slioes  and  my  bones  at  the 
expense  of  my  cash.  HoAvever,  it  cost  me  but  eighteen  pence, 
and  I  do  not  intend  to  be  often  so  idle  or  so  extravagant. 

^'Thursday,  SepUmher  22cl.  This  day  has  furnished  no  inci- 
dent that  deserves  recording  here.  Yet  Avhat  a  serious  con- 
sideration is  it  that  every  incident  and  occurrence  of  it  is  re- 
corded in  another  place,  and  Avill  be  produced  for  me,  or  against 
me,  at  the  last  day !  I  had  a  holiday  from  preacliing  this  even- 
ing, and  heard  Mr.  Taylor,  at  City  Road,  from  '  Hope  maketh 
not  ashamed.'  My  mind  was  strangely  and  unusually  disposed 
to  Avander.  This  I  can  not  Avell  account  for,  as  I  had  been  fa- 
vored Avith  considerable  access  to  God  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
and  am  not  Avont  to  find  much  difficulty  in  fixing  my  attention 
on  any  subject  to  AA^hich  I  wish  to  listen.  'Pardon,  O  Lord, 
the  iniquity  of  my  holy  things.' 

'■'■Friday  Evening^  ^Sejytember  22d.  This  morning  I  rose  very 
early,  and  linished  my  letters.  I  next  indulged  myself  Avith  a 
half  hour's  lounge  in  the  booksellers'  shops.  The  Dissenting 
ministers,  I  perceive,  are  quite  before  us  Methodists  in  publi- 
cations designed  to  stimulate  the  people  to  engage  in  the  act- 
ive defense  of  the  country.  Messrs.  Hughes,  Cooper,  Fuller, 
and  many  others  of  them,  haA'e  published  sermons  Avitli  that 
vicAV,  preached  to  their  respective  congregations.  From  Sta- 
tioners' Court  I  went  to  Surrey  Chapel,  and  heard  a  sort  of 
lecture  from  IMr.  Jay.  He  Avas  not  so  animated  nor  so  brilliant 
as  Avhen  I  heard  him  Ijefore,  but  very  instructive  and  impress- 
ive. Few  preachers  are  able  to  extort  tears  from  me ;  but  he; 
conquered  me,  and  dissolved  me  into  tenderness  while  enlarg- 
ing on  the  character  and  sufferings  of  the  Ai)OStle  Paul.  When 
I  hear  such  preaching  :is  j\Ir.  Jay's,I  am  ahvays  ashamed  of  my- 
self, and  Avonder  that  ihe  poo])l(!  sliould  ever  like  to  listen  to 
my  poor  SAvashy*  sermons.  I  feel  I  am  too  declamatory  in  my 
mode  of  preaching.  I  Avant  more  Aveight  and  solidity.  IIoav- 
ever,  while  I  am  humbled,  I  am  roused,  and  see  the  necessity 
of  increasing  diligence,  that  I  too,  by  the  blessing  of  Cod,  may 
*  "  To  s<cnsh.  V.  ?;.,  to  luixko  a  prriif  clatter  or  noise." — Johnson. 


niS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  167 

become  in  due  time  '  a  workman  that  needetb  not  to  be 
ashamed.' " 

Septcmher  23<;?,  my  father  writes  to  Mr. Wood,  "The  long 
evenmg  walks  are  indeed  productive  of  considerable  fatigue,  but 
they  become  more  easy  by  custom,  and  hitherto  my  strength 
seems  to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  my  work. 
What  will  be  the  state  of  my  health  in  the  winter,  I  can  not 
tell.  At  present  I  bless  God  I  am  quite  well,  and,  if  it  please 
Divme  Providence  to  continue  to  me  this  mercy,  I  shall  not 
mhid  the  fatigue.  It  is  my  lot,  and  I  beheve  always  will  be, 
to  preach  the  Gospel  '  in  much  w.earkiess ;'  wearmess  in  the 
service,  not  of  it.  We  have  no  particular  news  either  in  the 
poUtical  or  the  religious  world,  excepting,  indeed,  that  we  have 
just  received  accomits  from  Gibraltar  that  some  of  our  pious 
soldiers  in  that  garrison  are  sufleriug  grievous  persecution  for 
attending  Methodist  preaching  when  not  on  duty.  Two  of 
them,  for  this  only  crime,  have  received  two  hundred  lashes ; 
and  one,  Avho  was  a  corjioral,  is  also  reduced  to  the  ranks.  At 
the  tune  our  intelligence  came  away,  another  of  our  brethren 
was  under  sentence  of  five  hundred  lashes.  This  matter  is  like- 
ly to  be  very  seriously  taken  up  by  several  gentlemen  in  Lon- 
don, since  such  military  tyranny  is  completely  illegal.  In  Ja- 
maica, also,  they  continue  to  pass  and  enforce  penal  laws  against 
us.  K  the  government  here  wink  at  these  attacks  upon  rehg- 
ious  liberty,  I  shall  begin  to  fear  for  the  safety  of  the  country. 
God  will  avenge  His  Church  on  all  her  oppressors,  wherever 
He  find  them." 

"  Saturday  Myht,  September  24th.  I  was  in  time  to  dehver 
my  packet  m  Cateaton  Street,*  and  to  take  tea  at  Mr.  Ilovatt's, 
in  Bishopsgate  Street.  Several  preachers  were  present,  and 
our  party  was  pleasant  and  profitable.  I  was  reproved  sharply 
for  my  taciturnity  (a  crime  into  which,  I  fear,  I  am  not  apt  to 
fall),  and  required  to  contribute  my  share  to  the  conversation 
in  terms  Avhich  made  me  feel  extremely  awkward  and  fooUsh. 
The  Penitents'  meeting  is  the  best  public  ordmance  I  attend. 
It  was  good  for  me,  and  for  many,  this  night,  to  be  there.  Mr. 
Benson  concluded  it  by  speaking  very  closely  on  the  marks  of 

*  The  packets  intended  for  my  mother  were,  hy  Mr.  Rylc's  considerate 
kindness,  forwarded  in  his  parcels  of  goods  to  Macclestield.  His  London 
warehouse  was  in  the  street  nanied. 


168  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

sincere  conversion.  One  of  the  marks  he  mentioned  was  '  an 
earnest  desire  to  avoid  every  thinu;-  whicli  may  furnish  occasion 
or  suggest  temptation  to  sin.'  Under  this  liead  he  said  some 
strong  things  to  the  ladies  about  gay  and  costly  apparel,  the 
wearing  of  Avhich,  he  insisted,  rendered  their  conversion  sus- 
picious, because  it  exjioses  them  to  the  temptation  of  pride  and 
self-complacency  ;  ■which  tempers,  if  sincere,  they  would  not 
cherish,  but  resist.  I  did  not  know  that  I  had  sent  you  the 
London  plan.  I  will  inclose  the  new  one,  which  I  have  this 
moment  received  from  the  press.  I  see  they  have  given  me  far 
more  than  my  share  of  the  work  in  the  Ncav  Chapel.  This  is 
kindly  meant,  but  I  Avould  rather  have  had  only  my  own  turns. 
"  tSunday  Evening^  Sept.  2bth.  Mr.  Rankin  preached  this 
morning  from  Psalm  xxv.  At  our  breakfast  meeting  which 
followed,  a  Mr.  Ringeldauben,  from  Germany,  was  introduced. 
He  is  come  to  England  for  the  purpose  of  being  shortly  sent 
abroad,  luider  the  patronage  of  the  Society  for  Missions  in 
Africa  and  the  East.  I  venerate  greatly  the  zeal  and  i^iety  of 
those  who  thus  abandon  their  country  and  friends  in  order  to 
evangelize  the  heathen.  "When  I  look  at  their  sacrifices  and 
exertions,  I  feel  utterly  ashamed  of  myself  However,  some 
must  stay  in  garrison,  while  others  carry  offensive  war  into  the 
territories  occupied  by  the  enemy ;  and,  on  the  whole,  I  do  not 
doubt  that  I  am  where  God  M'oidd  have  me  to  be.  Mr.  R.  very 
modestly  requested  that  he  might  be  appointed  to  some  of  our 
country  chapels;  but  I  took  him  with  me  to  Spitalfields,  and 
])ublished  him  there  for  the  afternoon.  God  bless  him !  I  love 
liim  for  his  work's  sake.  I  spent  most  of  the  afternoon  alone, 
being  too  tired,  and  too  anxious  about  my  own  Avork  at  Queen 
Street  in  the  evening,  to  go  to  any  place  of  worshij).  I  Avas  a 
good  deal  i)cri)lexed  about  my  Charity-sermon  text,  lieliig  di- 
vided between  Gal.,  vi.,  9,  and  Dent.,  xxix.,  29,  the  only  pas- 
sages I  had  before  used  on  like  occasions.  At  length  I  fixed 
on  the  latter.  I  have  never  been  so  fluttered  by  the  sight  of  a 
congregation  as  I  Avas  for  about  half  an  hour  after  I  entered 
the  pulpit.  After  a  Avhile  I  forgot  my  iears  and  embarrass- 
ments, and  spoke  Avith  considerable  freedom.  I  am  heartily 
glad  that  it  is  all  Ofvcr.  Thus  one  Sabbath  passes  after  another 
in  rapid,  succession  ;  my  last  Avill  soon  arrive.  Though  I  cer- 
tainly have  noAV  more  ties  to  earth  than  I  formerly  had,  I  still 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  169 

feel  that  it  can  not  arrive  too  soon,  if  it  do  but  find  mo  ready. 
Exhausted  in  body  and  mind,  I  lay  me  down  to  rest,  ashamed 
and  disgusted  with  myself,  but  very  thankful  to  God  for  the 
comforts  I  enjoy.     Good-night  to  all  the  world !" 
Dr.  Percival  writes  to  my  father  under  date  of 

*' September  2Gth,  1803. 
"  My  dear  Sir, — ^To  your  very  affectionate  letter  I  have  only 
time  to  make  a  short  reply.  But  few  words  are  necessary  to 
express  the  steady  and  cordial  attachment  which  I  retain,  and 
shall  through  life  retam,  for  you.  I  rejoice  that  you  have  the 
prospect  of  a  happy  settlement  in  London,  Avhere  you  can  not 
fail  to  enjoy  numerous  opportunities  of  improvement.  The 
work  of  Dr.  Magee  on  Atonement  shall  be  dehvered  to  your 
sister,  to  be  forwarded  to  you  foV  the  use  of  your  friend.  It 
may  be  returned  during  the  course  of  next  month.  I  am  in 
daily  expectation  of  a  visit  from  Dr.  Magee,  and  shall  state  to 
him  the  particulars  you  mention.  I  believe  his  book  is  out  of 
print  in  Dublin  as  well  as  in  London.  He  is  at  present  so 
much  occupied  with  his  Discourses  on  the  Prophecies  as  not  to 
have  leisure  for  a  new  edition  of  the  treatise  on  Atonement. 
He  means  to  revise  the  whole,  and  will,  probably,  convert  the 
long  notes  into  separate  dissertations.  I  thank  you  for  yovir 
kind  attention  to  my  commission  respecting  Eden  on  Pimish- 
ment.  Pray  continue  to  keep  it  in  view,  but  do  not  give  your- 
self much  trouble  about  it.  My  whole  family  unite  in  the 
kindest  regards  to  you,  with  your  sincerely  affectionate  friend 
and  servant,  Thomas  Percival." 

Liclosed  in  this  letter  I  find  a  slip  of  paj^er  addressed  to 
Miss  Bimting : 

"  Be  so  good  as  to  offer  my  most  affectionate  respects  to 
your  brother,  with  my  best  thanks  for  Ms  very  acceptable  and 
obliging  present.  The  third  edition  of '  Penal  Law'  is  the  last, 
and  that  which  I  wanted.  Lord  Auckland  informs  me  that  his 
bookseller  could  nowhere  meet  with  a  copy.  Your  brother  has, 
therefore,  been  fortimate  in  liis  search.     Yours,  T,  P 


T3" 


"  Monday  Evening^  September  2Qth^  I  have  had  a  long  and 
Vol.  I.— H 


170  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

pleasant  conversation  with  Mr.  Butterworth,  one  of  our  lead- 
ing men,  who  says  the  London  people  (meaning,  I  suppose, 
himself  and  his  particular  friends)  have  not  been  for  many 
years  so  satisfied  with  their  appointment  of  preachers,  as  a 
whole,  as  they  are  this  year,  I  consider  acceptance,  as  well  as 
success,  to  be  the  gift  of  God,  and  am,  therefore,  thankful  for 
my  share  of  it.  But  it  will  be  well  if  they  are  profited  as  much 
as  they  say  they  are  pleased.  Mr.  Butterworth  tells  me  he  has 
in  his  nund  a  project  for  raising  a  complete  theological  libraiy, 
to  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  preachers  in  London.  He 
says  he  can  easily  secure  a  few"  hundred  pounds,  once  for  all, 
to  be  applied  to  the  purchase  of  it.  Such  a  scheme,  however 
honorable  to  the  proposer,  is  not  so  necessary,  and  would  not 
be  so  useful  here  as  in  country  circuits.  There  is  scarcely  a 
book  of  established  merit  which  may  not  be  borrowed  in  Lon- 
don from  some  of  our  friends,  and  we  have  but  little  time  for 
those  regular,  close,  and  systematic  studies  which  render  the 
privilege  of  consulting  large  libraries  so  valuable.  On  my  way 
home  I  again  stepped  into  St.  PauFs.  What  an  astonishing 
pile  of  architecture !  But  the  chanting  of  the  prayers  is  very 
bad.  I  have  witnessed  many  extravagances  in  the  prayer- 
meetings,  etc.,  of  the  persons  called  Revivalists  among  us,  but 
I  never  saw  or  heard  any  thing  there  so  irreverent,  so  irra- 
tional, so  luiscriptural  as  these  proceedings  in  St.  Paul's.  The 
clergy  of  the  Establishment  have  no  right  to  throw  stones  at 
us  for  tolerating  Ranterism  while  such  things  are  practiced 
by  themselves  in  their  own  cathedrals."  [My  father  is  speak- 
ing of  the  careless  and  often  ])rofane  services  of  former  days.] 
"  AVe  have  had  a  very  busy  afternoon.  In  order  to  expedite 
the  business  of  the  Quarterly  meeting,  it  is  the  custom  for  the 
steward  to  meet  the  ]M-eachers  a  few  days  before,  and  to  receive 
and  pay  all  the  moneys  from  them  or  to  them  in  private,  so 
that  at  tlie  i)ul)lic  mooting  the  accounts  are  only  read  and  aud- 
ited. This  i)lan  is  a  good  one.  It  leaves  more  time  for  inter- 
esting and  useful  conversation.  Our  business  was  concluded 
but  just  in  time  for  me  to"  run  to  Snowsfields,  where  T  ])reached 
from  Acts,  iii.,  20,  .niid  met  the  leaders.  I  have  not  lost  a  min- 
ute, yet  it  is  now  11  o'clock,  and  I  have  promised  to  preach  in 
the  morning  at  5  o'clock. 

"  Tueftday  Evening,  Sept.  21  th.  After  a  very  sleepless  night, 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  171 

full  of  tossiiigs  to  and  fro,  I  rose  between  4  and  5  o'clock,  and 
preached  from  Romans,  viii.,  2.  I  again  began  my  sermon  to 
eight  jjersons,  and  again  mustered  thirteen  at  the  conclusion. 
This  seems  to  be  the  ne  2^lus  ultra^  beyond  which  the  attrac- 
tions of  my  morning  eloquence  can  not  avail.  I  view  this  serv- 
ice as  a  work  of  complete  supererogation.  Mr.  Taylor  is 
resolved  that  he  will  not  engage  m  it  more  than  once  a  week, 
and  advises  me  to  be  lilce-minded.  None  of  the  other  ti'aveling 
preachers  will  attend ;  so  that  it  is  the  tax  which  we  have  to 
l>ay  for  living  in  the  episcopal  palace  and  occupying  head- 
quarters. The  leaders'  meeting  resolved  a  few  weeks  ago  that 
it  should  be  given  u^),  and  converted  into  a  prayer  meeting; 
but,  to  gratify  the  prejudices  of  two  or  three,  it  is  continued. 
However,  it  is  not  in  vain  humbly  to  wait  upon  God.  At  6 
o'clock  P.M.  I  preached  to  a  goodly  company  at  Bow  from  Acts, 
xiii.,  38,  39,  bemg  particularly  requested  to  speak  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Justification.  A  gentleman,  whose  name  is  Buttress,* 
and  who  lives  in  Spitalfields,  had  oflered  me  his  company,  which, 
of  course,  I  accepted,  and  was  glad  that  I  did.  I  found  him  an 
agreeable  and  intelligent  fellow-traveler.  He  tells  me  that,  dur- 
ing the  three  years  of  Mr.  Adam  Clarke's  residence  in  London, 
he  Avas  his  almost  constant  attendant.  Mr.  Clarke  used  to  call 
him  his  satellite,  and  very  justly,  for  he  walked  with  him  six 
thousand  miles,  heard  him  preach  nine  hmidred  sermons  (eight 
himdred  and  ninety-eight  of  which  were  from  different  texts), 
and  supped  with  him,  after  their  evening  excursions  (either  at 
Mr.  Clarke's  or  at  his  own  house),  about  six  hundred  times. 
Mr.  Buttress  is  a  good  deal  comiectcd  with  the  evangelical 
ministers  of  the  metropolis  in  the  Chm-ch  and  out  of  it,  and 
gave  me  more  information  about  them  than  any  person  I  had 
before  met  with. 

"  Wednesday^  September  28th.  I  have  not  been  out  of  the 
house  to-day.  I  read  the  second  part  of  Huntington's  '  Bank 
of  Faith.'  Whatever  be  this  gentleman's  talents,  I  fear  his 
spirit  is  not  that  of  the  Bible  or  of  Christ.  He  boasts  too 
much,  and  manifests  somethmg  which  I  can  not  distinguish 
from  pride  and  citlpable  levity.  But  perhaps  I  am  mistaken. 
'Tis  well  that  I  wrote  my  letters  yesterday,  for  I  am  not  capa- 

*  For  fifty-five  years  a  much  esteemed  friend  of  my  father,  and  still  sur- 
viving. 


172  THE   LIFK   OF  JAliEZ   BUNTING. 

bio  of  very  dose  :i[)i)licatiou  lo-day.  My  licad  :u-1k'S  sadly,  and 
uiy  spirits  arc  low.  'Is  any  atlliclod?  let  him  i)ray.'  i)  Lurd, 
let  Thy  tSjfirit  help  my  iulirinities,  aud  support  the  leebleuess 
of  my  mind ! 

"  Thursdaij  Eccning^  September  2dth.  I  spent  an  horn-  this 
forenoon  in  examining  the  eontents  of  Mr.  Wesley's  library. 
The  title  of  one  vohimo  could  not  but  attr.aet  my  notice  midcr 
present  circumstances :  '  A  Treatise  on  the  Cumbers  and  Troub- 
les of  Marriage;  intended  to  advise  them  tlteit  may,  to  shun 
them ;  tliem.  that  may  not,  well  and  patiently  to  hear  them.' 
If  I  had  a  little  more  leisure,  perhaps  I  might  give  this  book  a 
perusal ;  for,  though  the  first  piece  of  advice  comes  now  too 
late  for  me  to  follow,  probably  I  may  some  time  stand  in  need 
of  the  second. 

'■'■  Friday  Eceniny,  September  SOth.  My  mind  to-night  is 
more  than  usually  aliectedby  a  sense  of  the  mercy  and  forl)ear- 
ance  of  my  God  toward  me.  I  ani  greatly  cncom'agcd  to  hope 
in  Ilim;  greatly  ashamed  of  my  proneness  to  wander;  and 
greatly  desirous  to  set  out  afresh  in  the  i)ath  of  cntu'e  devoted- 
ness  to  His  service. 

•'  'O  Thou  who  kill'st  and  iiiak'st  alive, 

Ti)  mc  Thy  (luickcning  junver  impart ; 
Thy  grace  couvey ;  Thy  work  revive  ; 

Retouch  my  lips ;  renew  my  heart ; 
Forth,  with  a  new  commission,  send ; 
And  all  Thy  servant's  steps  attend.' 

"  Satitrcleiy  Nooji,  October  1st.  The  preachers  do  not  meet 
tliis  week,  so  I  have  had  the  forenoon  to  myself — a  great  priv- 
ilege. T  am  ([uite  at  a  h^ss  what  text  to  iix  upon  for  to-morro\s' 
evening.  In  this  respect,  also,  it  is  needful  to  implore  Divine 
inHuence,  that  we  may  be  guided  aright." 

October  1st,  1803,]\Ir.Kntwi.sle  writes  to  him,  "We  hope  for 
better  d.ays  in  Macclesfield.  Two  regulations  have  Lately  taken 
))lace,  which,  if  [»roj»erly  attended  to,  will  be  useful.  We  h.avo 
agreed  to  have  a  leaders'  meeting  once  a  m(»nth  for  si)iritual 
conversation,  etc.  Last  Friday  but  one  Avas  the  first.  Most 
of  the  bretln-cn  were  present.  I  spoke  to  every  irnVn  i<hi:il,  and 
closely  examined  them  on  the  subject  of  ))rivate  jirayer.  The 
following  f|ueslifinH  were  ]trfipos('d  to  each:  1.  'Do  yon  make 
a  point  of  retiring  for  secret  ]»rayer  once  r»r  twice  :i  dav,  be- 


UIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  173 

sides  ^lorning  and  evening  devotion  ?'  Tliis  wo  all  thought  to 
be  a  duty  and  a  privilege,  unless  something  extraordinary  hap- 
pened to  render  it  impossible.  2.  '  Do  you  not  only  ineulcate 
the  duty  upon  your  members,  but  indi\idually  inquire  if  thev 
perform  it  r"  If  we  can  persuade  leaders  and  people  to  mucii 
secret  i)rayer,  we  shall  soon  find  the  good  eflects  of  it.  I  find 
some  of  the  leaders  were  not  verj^  strict  in  their  inquiries,  and 
it  has  been  found  that  some,  from  whom  better  things  were  ex- 
pected, have  lived  in  the  partial,  if  not  general  neglect  of  that 
important  duty.  We  are  in  reality  just  what  we  are  before 
God  m  secret.  'The  secret  acts  of  men,  if  noble,  are  far  the 
noblest  of  their  lives.'  The  other  thing  alluded  to  is  a  plan  for 
tlie  recovery  of  backshders.  A  number  of  our  Ijrethren  have 
agreed  to  lay  themselves  out  to  reclaim  the  wanderers.  Tlu- 
town  is  divided  hito  districts ;  two  or  three  visitors  in  eacli 
district.  These  intend  to  ^•isit  them,  pray  with  them,  and 
bring  them  to  the  means  of  grace;  and,  when  they  are  judged 
in  a  proper  state  to  be  readmitted,  to  recommend  them  to 
meet  with  their  former  leaders.  The  brethren  who  have  en- 
gaged in  this  labor  of  love  are  to  meet  the  preacher  once  a 
fortnight,  after  Sunday-mornmg  preaching,  m  order  to  bring 
their  report  and  receive  advice.  It  certainly  is  a  good  design, 
whatever  it  may  produce.  I  know  you  will  join  me  in  pray- 
ing, '  O  Lord,  send  now  prosperity !' " 

"  October  1st.  Amid  all,  let  us  try,  my  best  beloved,  to  be 
mcreasingly  attentive  to  the  one  great  business  of  life— prep- 
aration for  eternity.  This  world,  Avith  all  its  connections  and 
enjoyments,  must  shortly  pass  away.  Our  existence  here, 
though  justly  compared  to  a  shadow,  is  introductory  to  a 
state  of  the  most  substantial  happiness  or  misery,  that  shall 
abide  forever.  « Seemg  that  ye  look  for  such  thuigs,  be  dili- 
gent that  ye  may  be  found  of  Him  in  peace,  without  spot,  and 
blameless.'  Let  us  redeem  the  time  from  unnecessary  inter- 
course with  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  walking  with  God, 
and  conversmg  with  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  Let  us 
cultivate  the  true  spirit  of  prayer.  If  it  will  suit  you,  I  find 
that  I  can  generally  set  apart  the  hour  between  seven  and 
eight  o'clock  m  the  morning  for  meeting  you  at  the  footstool 
of  our  common  Friend.  I  trust  His  Providence  has  made  us 
acquainted,  and  that  He  Avill  afibrd  all  needful  direction  as  to 


174  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

every  thini;  which  concerns  our  future  conduct  and  happiness. 
Let  us  inij)ortunately  and  l.)ehevin<j;ly  chiini  His  j)roniise — 'In 
all  tliy  ways  acknowledge  Ilim,  and  lie  shall  direct  thy  i)at]is.' 
I  dined  with  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Meredith,  of  Bishopsgatc  Street. 
Mr,  and  Mrs.  and  two  Misses  Rutlierford,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Taylor,  were  of  the  i)arty,  which  Avas  more  pleasant  than  I  ex- 
pected. Miss  Meredith  and  jNIiss  Kutherford  are  musically  in- 
cUned,  and  entertahied  Mr.  Taylor  hy  ])laying  and  singing. 
lie  desired  them  to  sing  a  favorite  Scotch  air  in  the  words  of 
one  of  our  hjanus.  They  wished  to  retain  the  words  of  a  love- 
song,  to  Avhich  the  music  originally  belonged,  and  asked  him 
whether  he  saw  any  harm  hi  those  words.  Ilis  answer,  I 
think,  desei'ves  recording,  as  the  maxim  it  contains  Avill  a])j)ly 
to  a  thousand  similar  instances :  " My  children,  you  do  "v\ell  to 
inquire,  in  the  first  jilace.  Is  there  any  harm  in  it  ?  But,  if  this 
first  question  he  answered  in  the  negative,  still  there  is  a  sec- 
ond inquiry  to  he  made,  which  must  he  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative l^efore  your  use  of  that  song  can  he  justified.  Is  there  any 
good  in  it  ?' 

"  Sunday  Evening^  October  2d.  I  read  prayers  at  Wapping 
this  forenoon  (making,  I  believe,  hut  one  blunder"'),  and  ])reach- 
ed  from  Romans,  viii.,  2,  which  I  had  no  thought  of  doing  be- 
fore ;  but,  while  I  was  m  the  desk,  I  felt  a  strong  inclination  to 
fix  upon  it;  and,  supposing  that  the  impulse  might  possibly  be 
Divine,  I  yielded,  tliough  with  some  hesitation,  resulting  from 
my  having  so  fre(iuently  spoken  upon  this  passage  of  late.  I 
had  a  very  good  time. 

"  At  the  New  Chapel  in  the  evening,  my  text  was  1  Timothy, 
i.,  18.  This  chapel,  when  crowded,  is,  I  fear,  too  large  for  me. 
The  ne(^essary  exertion  of  my  voice  quite  overstrained  it,  and 
I  spoke  jiaiiifully  to  myself,  and  j^robably  not  very  ]»leasantly 
to  the  ears  of  others.  It  was  not  ojie  of  my  lia})inest  eiforts 
in  the  preaching  way.  Jiut  ])erhaj)s  God  saAv  it  riglit  to  pun- 
ish mc  by  withholding  the  wonted  aids,  in  some  measure,  for 
the  want  of  tliat  entire  simplicity  and  singleness  of  eye  which 
would  have  made  me  somewhat  less  solicitous  tlian  I  was 
about  my  first  appearance  in  the  Sunday  evening  congregation. 

*  The  reading;  of  the  morninp  scn-icc  wns  n  novelty  to  him.  In  Oldham 
nn<l  in  Mnrrlcsficld  tlio  cnpnp'inonts  at  the  rlinpcl  were  still  conducted  OS 
8Upi>kinentary  to  tliosc  of  the  Church  of  Enpland. 


ins   EAKLY   MINISTIIY   IN   LONDON.  175 

Exliausted  as  I  am,  I  can  procure  no  substitute  for  tlic  morn- 
ing ;  so  I  must  say  good-night,  and  go  to  rest,  that  I  may  wake 
hi  time. 

^'■3fondai/  Eocning^  October  3c7.  Rest  I  could  get  but  verj- 
little  of  last  night,  and  I  lay  awake  long  enough  before  the  time 
of  preaching.  At  5  o'clock  I  went  into  the  vestry,  and  found 
not  a  soul  i)resent.  By-and-by  three  persons  aj^peared.  By 
the  time  I  had  sung  twice  and  prayed,  four  more  arrived.  As 
I  did  not  find  my  mhid  in  preaching  cue,  I  read  to  them  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  expounded  a  few  passages  as  I  pro- 
ceeded ;  and  good  Dr.  Hamilton  concluded.  People  in  general 
are  much  more  alarmed  about  an  invasion  than  heretofore.  I 
hear  the  Jews  in  London  are  forming  themselves  into  a  Vol- 
unteer Company,  a  circumstance  without  a  parallel.  Their 
liigh-priest,  also,  has  compiled  a  prayer  specially  adapted  to  the 
present  exigence,  wliich  is  to  be  used  in  all  their  synagogues. 

"  The  '  Clu-istian  Observer'  has  of  late  months  taken  several 
opportunities  to  attack  the  Weslcyan  Methodists  as  schismat- 
ics and  enthusiasts.  What  they  say  in  that  work  this  month 
about  our  late  minute  against  Avomen  preaching  has  some 
weight.  More  stress  ought  to  have  been  laid  on  what  I  judge 
to  be  the  exjn-ess  prohibition  of  that  practice  by  St.  Paul.  But 
their  vague  insinuations  in  another  article  about  our  enthusi- 
astic pretenses  to  mspiration,  etc.,  are  immanly.  Mr.  Benson 
strongly  urges  me  to  draw  up  a  short  defense  of  our  general 
character  and  doctrines  against  these  insinuations  for  insertion 
in  our  Magazine.  They  deserve  a  little  lashing ;  but  let  not 
my  hand  be  upon  them !  Mr.  Rutherford  is  very  kind  and  af- 
fectionate toward  me.  He  has  not  forgotten  our  former  ac- 
quaintance in  Manchester.  To  me  he  was  very  useful,  almost 
at  the  commencement  of  my  religious  life.  My  turn  to-nin-ht 
was  Hoxton,  but,  to  oblige  Mr.  Benson,  I  took  his  place  at 
Queen  Street,  and  preached  from  Jer.,  viii.,  22.  Messrs.  Myles 
and  Rutherford,  who  sat  exactly  opposite  to  me,  rather  embar- 
rassed my  proceedings.  After  preaching  I  met  the  band-lead- 
ers, as  customary  once  a  month,  to  examine  their  band-papers, 
to  admit  new  members,  etc.  Those  who  meet  in  Band  in  Lon- 
don all  pay  something  weekly,  as  in  their  classes,  which  is  re- 
ceived from  the  leaders  at  these  meetings  by  an  officer  called 
the  '  band-steward,'  and  distributed  by  him  to  the  poor.     At 


176  TIIK   LIFE   OF  JABKZ   15UNTING. 

G  o'clock,  my  frioiiJ  Mr.  IJlackLiirnc,  from  Saddlewortli,  and  a 
London  niinistor  of  the  name  of  Atkinson  (who  is  a  tutor  in 
Hoxton  Acadfmy),  called  on  me  according  to  a]iiiointment,  and 
we  went  together  to  hear  Mr.IIimtington  in  Monkwell  Street. 
I  was  considerably  disappointed.  He  is  not  so  mnch  of  tlie 
orator,  nor  was  he  so  much  to-night  of  the  rank  Antinomian  as 
I  expected.  I  see  nothing  in  liis  maimer  that  accounts  for  liis 
amazing  celebrity,  and  am  more  and  more  convinced  that,  of  all 
contemptible  tilings,  popular  panegjTic  is  one  of  the  most  con- 
temptible, and  oftener  misapplied  than  deserved.  Mr.  Hunt- 
ington has  great  readiness  in  quoting  Scripture,  and,  in  the 
course  of  a  long  sermon,  brought  forward  much  sound  and  val- 
uable divinity,  mixed  with  very  little  Iroth,  and  not  delivered 
with  much  animation.  I  noAV  almost  wish  I  had  heard  Mr.  Jay 
instead,  though  I  by  no  means  think  that  my  time  has  been 
uselessly  em})loycd.  I  was  invited  to  suj)  with  Mr.  Blackburne 
at  tlie  house  of  Mr.  Wilson,  in  Finsbury  Place,  a  gentleman  of 
great  influence  among  the  Evangelical  Dissenters.  Seldom 
have  I  spent  an  hour  so  agreeably  or  more  edifying.  Though 
I  am  firmly  attached  to  Wesleyan  ]\Ietliodism  as  the  system  of 
doctrir.cs  and  of  disci])line,  which  I  tliink  is,  as  a  whole,  more 
ecri2)tural  and  prhnitive  than  any  other  now  existing;  yet  there 
is  not,  I  believe,  a  man  upon  earth  who  more  sincerely  vener- 
ates than  I  do  the  image  of  God  in  persons  of  diiferent  senti- 
ments and  denominations,  or  who  more  readily  embraces  in 
Christian  allection  good  men  of  all  descriptions.  And  this 
catholic  charity  I  feel  to  be  perfectly  consistent  w  ith  my  own 
peculiar  attaclnnents  and  ])rcdilections. 

'"'' Wednesday  Eveninff^Oct.  5(h.  The  wliole  of  this  forenoon 
was  sj)ent  in  my  study,  chiefly  in  my  accustomed  devotional 
exercises,  I  feel  that  1  shouM  be  culpably  wanting  in  gr.-iti- 
tude  to  Ilim  from  whom  all  blessings  How  if,  in  recording  this 
day's  incidents,  I  omitted  to  nu;ntion  the  unusual  j)rofit  and 
pleasure  which  resulted  from  my  ])rivatc  approaches  to  Ilim 
this  morning.  I  fit  the  Avord  to  be  most  )»recious,  and  Ilis 
favor  to  lie  better  than  life,  and  had  more  than  wonted  t-nlarge- 
ment  of  heart  while  engaged  in  intercession  for  tlie  world,  the 
Church,  the  ]\rethodist  connection,  the  circuits  1  have  left,  and 
that  in  which  I  now  am,  and  for  various  friends  and  beloved 
connectifius,  on  whoso  account  God  forbid  that  I  should  ever 
cease  to  pray. 


HIS   EARLY   MIXISTRY   IN   LONDON.  177 

"  Saturday  Evening^  October  8th.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to-night 
to  exhort  at  the  Penitents'  nieethig.  I  could  procure  no  sub- 
stitute, find  therefore  reluctantly  attempted  it.  I  had  Aery  lit- 
tle freedom  or  comfort  in  speakuig.  I  addressed  myself  chiefly 
to  those  persons  who  are  not  so  thoroughly  awakened  as  to 
produce  that  seeking  of  the  Lord  '  Avith  the  whole  heart'  which 
is  necessary  in  order  to  our  finding  Him ;  whose  penitence  is 
sincere  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  not  sufficiently  deep,  lively,  and 
habitual. 

"  Siindatj^  Oi-toher  ^th.  At  'lO  I  read  prayers,  as  usual,  at 
Spitaltields,  and  i)reached  to  a  large  congregation  from  1  Peter, 
iii.,  15.  I  had  resolved  not  to  dhie  out  to-day,  but  was  per- 
suaded to  return  home  with  Mrs.  liovatt,  under  the  idea  that  I 
might  have  as  much  retirement  there  as  in  my  own  room.    We 

found,  however,  several  friends,  one  of  whom.  Miss ,  a  very 

young  but  very  sermon-lovhig  lady,  I  Avas  glad  to  accompajiy 
to  Eastcheap  Chapel,  to  hear  Mr.  Clayton.  I  had  heard,  from 
good  judges,  the  highest  character  of  Mr.  Clayton's  talents  as 
a  preacher,  and  I  was  not  disappointed.  There  is  somethhig 
Avonderfully  pleasing  to  me  in  his  manner.  It  is  easy,  serious, 
dignified,  and  highly  impressive.  His  elocution  is  animated 
and  manly,  but  very  different  from  the  florid,  tinsel  oratory 
Avhich  distinguishes  many  of  those  Avho  are  called  popular 
preachers.  Mr.  Clayton  is  popular  indeed,  but  not  among  the 
populace.  In  his  matter  to-day  there  Avas  nothing  new  or  un- 
connnon.  The  sul)ject  Avas  the  duty  of  confidence  in  God  in 
the  present  ])erilous  times.  But  any  thing  said  by  Mr.  Clayton 
is  said  so  Avell  as  to  become  strikmg  and  interesting.  I  am 
more  and  more  convinced  that  my  character  in  the  pulpit  is 
too  much  that  of  a  declaimer,  and  too  little  that  of  the  Chris- 
tian preacher;  but '  Kome  Avas  not  l)uilt  in  a  day.'  I  must  try 
to  be  more  Aveighty  and  solid.  Mr.  Clayton,  as  a  parent,  is 
highly  honored  of  God.  He  has  tAvO  sons  ab'eady  in  the  min- 
istry, and  another  at  Haxton  Academy,  Avho  is  likely  to  be  as 
great  an  honor  to  it  as  his  brothers  and  father.  After  all,  I 
like  our  o^nl  system  and  people  best.  If  otliers  have  more 
brilUant  displays  of  talent  in  their  assemblies,  I  think  Ave  have, 
in  general,  most  of  the  spirit  of  true  and  Uvely  devotion." 

With  the  son  then  at  the  academy,  the  Rev.  John  Clayton, 
Avho,  since  1803>has  commenced  and  completed  a  mhiisterial 

II 2 


178  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

course  of  o;roat  lionor  and  success,  for  which  ho  still  lives  to 
be  grateful,  my  father  afterward  formed  a  cordial  friendship. 
The  three  brothers  have  all  been  known  as  refined  English  gen- 
tlemeu,  effective  jtreachers,  and  devout  and  catholic  Christians; 
of  a  school  ■which,  by  its  steadfiist  loyalty  to  the  old  theology, 
and  to  those  essential  principles  of  Protestant  Nonconformity 
which  modern  politics  have,  perhaps,  tended  somewhat  to  ob- 
scure, long  retained  the  Puritan  hold  u})on  the  middle  order  of 
society  in  this  coimtry.  Far  distant  be  the  day  Avheu  that  hold 
shall  be  weakened.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  last  century 
will  repeat  itself,  or  that  the  Dissenting  Clnu-ches,  were  they 
unhappily  to  l^ecome  unevangelical  or  torpid,  Avould  be  again 
informed  Avith  the  vital  spirit  of  an  unsectarian  Methodism. 
Congregationalism  must  now  keep  its  oa\ti  adherents  by  the 
means  Avhich  won  them.  If  it  fail  to  do  so,  I  fear  that  neither 
our  own  conmiunity,  nor  tlie  Establishment,  Avith  all  its  new 
and  active  forces,  will  collect  them  again  into  the  common  fold. 
Dissenters,  in  large  numbers,  have  come  to  regard  the  Church 
of  England  as  an  enemy,  and  our  refusal  to  cherish  tlie  same 
feeling  has  made  us  more  or  less  odious  in  their  eyes,  and  thus 
prejudices  have  been  formed  against  both  Churchmen  and 
Methodists  which  might  thwart  our  best-intended  etlbrts.  That 
"there  is  room  for  us  all"  is  a  small  concession.  The  world 
can  not  do  without  any  of  us.  "Abram  said  imto  Lot,  'Sep- 
arate thyself,  I  i»ray  thee,  from  me;'"  and  Lot  "chose  him  all 
the  ])lain  of  Jordan."  They  j»arted  because  their  very  union, 
gendered  strifes,  and  because  the  goodly  land  found  plentiful 
pasturage  for  both.  Our  case  but  partially  resembles  theirs. 
Our  divisions  (not  necessarily  "unhap])y")  must  continue;  for 
attemjtts  at  uiiiibrmily  iinbitter,  if  they  do  not  create  ditfcr- 
ences  ;  but  the  plain  lies  before  us  "as  Sodom,  and  like  unto 
Gomorrah."  O  that  the  "very  small  remnant"  would  spread 
itself  all  over  the  wild  and  wasted  wilderness,  toiling  in  its  sev- 
eral detachments  luitil  the  desert  beconu'  as  the  garden  of  the 
Lord — none  of  us  with  either  heart  or  time  for  contention ! 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  179 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EARLY  MINISTRY  IX  LONDON — Continued. 

Farther  Extracts  from  Diary. — The  Tersecutions  in  Jamaica  and  at  Gibral- 
tar.— Mr.  Fennc'll. — James  Lackinp;ton.  —  Henry  Foster. — Benson  and 
the  Christian  Observer.  —  George  Burder.  —  Dr.  Steinkopff.  —  Joanna 
Sonthcote. — First  recorded  missionary  Sermon. — Prospects  of  National 
Inva.sion. — Richard  Cecil. — State  of  Methodism  in  London. — Last  Let- 
ter before  his  Marriage. — Ordinary  Duties  in  the  Study  and  the  Pulpit, 
and  among  the  Flock. 

I  RESUME  tlic  extracts  from  the  journals  and  correspondence 
of  this  jieriod. 

"  Tuesday  Evening.,  October  \Mh.  This  day  I  hoped  to  en- 
joy uninterrupted  retirement,  but  had  scarcely  entered  upon 
my  Avork  when  I  was  obliged  to  quit  it  in  order  to  accompany 
Messrs.  Taylor,  Benson,  Butterworth,  and  Allan  to  meet  Mr. 
Hardcastle  and  Mr.  Reyner,  two  leading  members  of  the  [Lon- 
don] Missionary  Society,  on  the  Jamaica  and  Gibraltar  busi- 
nesses. After  reading  various  documents  from  the  parties  con- 
cerned, and  also  a  letter  from  Mr.  Wilberforcc  containing  his 
advice,  the  gentlemen  agreed  to  take  up  the  tAvo  cases  sepa- 
rately, and  to  make  two  distinct  apiDlications  for  reUef.  The 
Jamaica  affair  is  to  be  brought  on  first,  and  Messrs.  Allan  and 
Butterworth  are  to  draw  up  a  memorial  respecting  it,  to  be 
presented  to  the  king  in  council,  stating  the  inconsistency  of 
the  persecuting  law  lately  passed  there  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution  and  Avith  the  rights  of  British  subjects,  describing 
the  imprisonments,  etc.,  Avhich  our  missionaries  and  others  have 
suffered  in  consequence  of  it,  and  praying  his  majesty  to  refuse 
his  royal  sanction  to  it.  In  this  application  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odists are  likely  to  be  johied  by  the  several  missionary  societies 
of  London  and  Edinburgh,  both  of  the  EstabUshment  and  out 
of  it,  so  that  there  probably  Avill  be  a  sufficient  combination  of 
influence  to  secure  its  success.  In  the  Gibraltar  affair  there  is 
more  difficulty.  From  several  circumstances,  there  appears  to 
be  a  systematic  intention  and  desire  to  prevent  the  spread  of 


ISO  THE   LIFE   OF  JAEEZ   BUNTING. 

truth  and  piety  in  the  army.  Mr.  Wilberforcc  and  Mr.  Thorn- 
ton are  somewhat  timid;  I\[r.  Ilardcastle  hesitates,  and  foars 
nothing  can  be  aeoom])lishcd.  Our  friends,  however,  are  re- 
solved to  attempt  sometliing.  Tlie  mode  of  appUeation  is  not 
detenuined.  Probably  they  will  try  to  get  the  ear  of  the  king 
liimself  by  means  of  Lord  Castlercagh.  It  was  four  o'clock 
before  we  got  home  from  the  meeting.  On  my  return  I  wit- 
nessed an  incident  whicli  greatly  ailected  me.  A  pious  clergy- 
man, from  the  vicinity  of  Newbury,  had  called  to  see  me. 
While  waiting  my  arrival,  a  letter  had  been  brought  to  hhn 
from  a  friend  in  his  neighborhood,  informing  him  that  at  a 
meeting  held  in  his  house  by  some  Methodists,  on  IMonday 
evening,  accorduig  to  custom  (since  he  left  home),  his  wife  had 
fomid  peace  with  God,  and  Avas  iilled  with  joy  in  beheving. 
Mr.  Fennell*  (for  that  is  the  clergyman's  name)  was  quite  ovcr- 

*  This  ]Mr.  Fenncll  must  not  be  confounded  with  him  of  tliat  nnrao  whose 
niece,  or  rather  wliosc  wife's  niece,  was  Charlotte  Bronte's  mother.  Every 
hody  is  tired  of  corrcctiufj;  the  mistakes  and  indiscretions  of  tlic  daughter's 
clever  but  random  bioj:;rai)her,  else  she  might  be  informed  that  the  Mr. 
Fennell  of  whom  she  writes  was  a  Methodist  local  preacher  at  the  time  Miss 
Branwell  was  married  to  Mr.  Bronte,  and  she  might  be  asked  by  what  an- 
achronism in  taste  she  ventures  to  speak  of  "the  fanaticism  of  a.  ^Yhitc- 
field."  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Bronte's  marriage,  ^Ir.  Fennell,  although  not  a 
minister,  was  the  house-governor  and  one  of  the  tutors  of  the  Wesleyan 
school  for  ministers'  children  at  Woodhouse  Grove,  near  Bradford,  in  York- 
shire, and  from  that  place  the  ha])py  pair  proceeded  to  the  wedding,  the 
bride  borrowing  a  white  lace  veil  for  the  occasion,  because  part  of  her  gar- 
niture had  been  lost  on  its  passage  by  sea.  Subsequently  Mr.  Bronte  acted, 
more  than  once,  as  classical  examiner  at  the  same  establishment.  My  un- 
cle, Mr.  Fletcher,  was  engaged  there  as  head  master  during  Mr.  Fennell's 
residence.  Miss  BranwcU  belonged  to  the  Methodist  family  of  the  Carncs, 
of  Fcnzancc,  the  latest  rejiresentativc  of  whicli,  Joseph  Carne,  F.R.S.,  was 
distinguished  yet  more  liy  his  steady  ])iety  and  uniform  attachment  to  the 
Church  in  which  he  was  trained  than  by  his  attainments  in  scienoo,  and  by 
his  high  general  jiositlon  in  his  native  county.  John  Carne,  his  brother,  a 
man  of  accomplislied  mind,  a  very  elegant  writer,  and  a  devoted  Wesleyan, 
became  well  known  to  the  world  of  literature  some  thirty  yeai-s  ago  by  his 
"Letters  from  the  East"  and  by  other  ]iiiblieations.  A  set  of  the  Method- 
ist Magazines  from  the  commencement  formed  jiart  of  Miss  Branwell's  mar- 
riage dowry,  and,  doubtless,  awoke  Charlotte  Bronte's  love  of  the  marvel- 
ous, and  kindled  into  a  flame  the  latent  fire  of  her  genius.  I  can  imagine 
her  reading  the  story  of  Karl  Ferrers,  and  jmring  over  the  engraving  of  my 
lord  the  murderer  just  cut  down  from  the  galhiws,  and  ])Iaced  in  his  coilin. 
I  am  bound  to  add  that  my  uncle  always  s])oke  of  Mr.  Bronte  in  terms  of 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  181 

whelmed  as  he  read  the  letter.  Indeed,  he  could  not  finish 
the  reading  of  it  hhnself,  but  desired  j\[r.  Taylor  to  read  it  to 
him.  I  never  saw  a  man  so  bedewed  Avith  tears  of  joy.  '  Ever 
shice  my  own  conversion,'  said  he,  '  I  have  been  praying,  night 
and  day,  that  God  would  also  bring  my  dear  -wife  into  the  way 
of  peace,  and  now  how  strangely  has  He  ansAvered  my  i)rayei'S 
durhig  my  absence  from  home !  I  am  more  overjoyed  by  this 
mtelligence  than  I  should  have  been  by  the  receipt  of  a  king- 
dom !'  He  begged  that  we  would  all  unite  with  him  m  return- 
ing thanks  to  God  for  his  great  mercy.  This  gentleman,  too, 
has  suffered  for  Christ's  sake.  He  has  been  lately  exj^elled  by 
his  rector  fi'om  a  curacy  in  Berkshire  '  for  preacliing  the  Ncav 
Birth  so  much.'  He  is  quite  a  Methodist  m  sentiment,  and 
says  that  he  will  live  and  die  by  the  doctrines  of  Wesley  and 
Fletcher.  We  have  just  received  a  most  extraordinary  ac- 
count from  Mr.  Williams,  of  Dursley,  m  Gloucestershire.  Near 
Thornbury,  hi  that  circuit,  the  celebrated  bookseller,  Lackmg- 
ton,  has  purchased  an  estate,  upon  Avhich  he  at  present  resides. 
When  he  Avas  a  poor  man  he  was  a  Christian  and  a  Methodist. 
Since  he  became  opulent  he  has  been  an  avowed  infidel,  of  the 
Avorst  and  most  iu:pudent  sort.  His  '  Life,'  published  by  him- 
self, is  designed  to  laugh  at  all  experimental  rehgion,  and  to 
represent  the  professors  of  it  as  knaves  or  fools.  This  apos- 
tate, hoAvever,  is  reclaimed,  and  has  become  a  zealous  advocate 
for  the  Bible  and  for  Methodism.  He  has  sent  to  London  a 
large  order  for  books,  Avliich  he  wants  to  assist  him  in  Avriting 
a  recantation  of  his  former  errors.  Refiection  on  the  rumous 
effects  produced  by  the  infidel  system  among  the  Continental 
nations,  several  late  publications  in  defense  of  Revealed  Rehg- 
ion, Dr.  Whitehead's  'Life  of  Wesley,'  some  of  Wesley's  Ser- 
mons, and  Fletcher's  '  Portrait  of  St.  Paul,'  are  the  means  to 
Avhich,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  Mr,  Lackmgton  ascribes  his 
recovery  from  so  dreadful  a  state  of  mind.     'Is  not  this  a 

the  highest  esteem,  and  did  not  recognize  the  picture  of  liim  which  his 
daughter's  friend  has  drawn  for  the  public  amusement.  It  is  the  fashion 
just  now  to  gibbet  the  fiithcrs  and  the  wives  of  great  literary  celebrities,  and 
men  who  affect  to  rule  tlie  manners  and  morals  of  the  age,  and  who  dictate 
oracular  "Plousehold  Words, "  forsooth !  record  the  infirmities  of  women 
they  have  vowed  to  cherish  with  little  less  coolness  than  if  they  were  de- 
scribing the  points  of  a  horse. 


182  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTIXG. 

brniKl  ]ilnckod  out  of  t lie  fire?'  In  coiitirniation  of  the  above 
account,  a  friend  of  mine  has  seen  a  letter  from  Lackington  to 
an  old  fellow-apprentice,  whom  he  had  been  the  instrument  of 
making  as  vile  an  infidel  as  liimself,  full  of  penitent  recantations 
and  pious  admonitions.  There  is  joy  in  heaven  of  a  more  than 
common  kind  over  every  such  sinner  that  re2)entetli." 

Lackington's  "  Life"  and  his  "  Confessions"  have  been  re- 
printed. The  former,  a  filthy  libel  upon  all  godliness,  made 
the  recantation  of  it  by  the  latter  a  remarkable  event.  But 
this  "was  one  of  the  cases  in  which  an  avowed  rej^entance  fails 
to  restore  the  reputation  of  the  i)cnitent.  He  retained  some 
connection  with  the  Methodists  until  his  death,  and  built  and 
endowed  two  chapels.  But  his  money  did  small  service. 
Though  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  his  sincerity,  his  was  a 
mind  such  as,  even  whgji  renewed,  continually  betrays  the 
coarseness  of  its  essential  elements. 

"  Wednesday  Evening,  Oct.  \2th.  This  morning  at  5  o'clock 
I  said  something  extempore  to  ten  or  twelve  jieople  from  1 
Cor.,  ix.,  2G.  Of  my  small  audience,  three  were  local  preachers, 
and  one  a  clergyman.  Dr.  Hamilton,  as  usual,  supplied  all  de- 
ficiencies on  my  part  by  his  fervent  and  most  aftecting  su))pli- 
cations.  We  dined  to-day  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ilovatt,  Mr.  ISto- 
ry,  and  Mr.  Whitfield,  at  Mr.  Ilankin's ;  a  very  pleasant  party. 
As  I  had  been  closely  employed  from  half  })ast  4  till  half  i)ast  1, 
my  mind  was.  fagged  and  disposed  to  be  melancholy;  but  ]\Irs. 
Ilovatt's  lively  conversation  entertained  me  in  spite  of  myself. 
I  have  not  laughed  so  much  since  I  came  to  London,  How- 
ever, I  think  it  was  not  unseasonable  nor  injurious.  Mr.  Tay- 
lor sang  for  us  some  deliLrlitful  Scotch  tunes,  and,  after  prayer, 
we  jjarted  as  merry  as  Christians  wish  to  be.  I  had  to  preach 
at  Snowsfields  in  the  evening :  my  text  was  Heb.,  iv.,  14.  I  am 
doomed  to  have  clerical  hearers,  the  thing  of  all  others  which 
most  annoys  me.  IMr.  Winkwoilh,  the  rector  of  the  parish,  sat 
just  before  me  to-night.  However,  I  spoke  with  great  comfort 
to  myself. 

"  JMday,  Oct.  Mth.  This  morning  I  set  out  toward  Surrey 
Chapel  to  hear  !Mr.  Jay,  of  Bath,  but  on  .arriving  at  St.  Paul's 
perceived  that  it  was  already  past  11  o'clock,  and  that  I  should 
be  too  late;  so  I  returned  liome  to  City  Jvoad,  and  found  it 
profitable  to  attend  our  usual  intercession  meeting  at  12  o'clock. 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IX   LONDON.  183 

At  half  past  3  we  dined  at  Mr.  Mortimer's,  in  Fleet  Street ;  in 
every  respect  a  most  agreeable  visit.  Mrs.  Mortimer  talked 
less  than  I  Avished.  Dr.  Whitehead,  who  Avas  one  of  our  party, 
was  at  first  very  silent,  but,  after  a  little  broaching,  entertained 
and  instructed  us.*  I  left  the  company  for  an  hour,  which  I 
spent  with  Mr.  Butterworth  on  the  business  of  the  Memorial 
on  this  Jamaica  Persecution,  and  then  returned  to  tea.  I  had 
a  long,  wet,  disagreeable  walk  afterward  to  Wapping,  where  it 
was  my  turn  to  conduct  the  national  prayer-meeting.  In  my 
way  homeward  I  stepped  into  St.  Antholin's,  Watling  Street, 
and  heard  part  of  a  sermon  from  the  famous  Mr.  Foster,!  who 
appears  to  be  a  plain,  judicious,  sound  preacher,  but  nothing 
more,  if  what  I  heard  was  a  proper  specimen.  Mr.  Benson's 
letter  to  the  Christian  Observer  is  so  bulky,  yet  so  good,  that  it 
Avould  suffer  by  abridgment,  but  could  not  be  inserted  in  any 
periodical  Avork.  We  had  a  good  deal  of  diversion  Avhile  help- 
ing him  to  contrive  a  title  for  it.  That  agreed  upon  is  '  The 
Methodist  Inspector  Inspected,  and  the  Christian  ObserA'er  Ob- 
serA'ed.'  Mr.  ButterAvorth  attended  Avitli  the  Memorial  respect- 
ing Jamaica  prepared  yesterday,  Avhich  Avas  approved,  and  Avill 
be  sent  to  Lord  Castlereagh  this  evening.  The  title  of  Mr. 
Kendall's  Essays  struck  me  as  I  passed  a  bookseller's  Avindow. 
I  fear  they  are  not  Avorth  much.  Some  of  the  hymns  on  Gen- 
eral Redemption  (in  Wesley's  Collection)  impressed  me  greatly, 
and,  as  you  Avere  once  half  a  Calvinist,  I  thought  I  should  like 
to  knoAV  your  opmion  of  them. 

"  Sunday  Evening,  October,  16t/i.  This  morning  Mr.  Creigh- 

*  Mr.  Mortimer,  a  hearty  hut  eccentric  Jlcthodist,  was  the  father  of  the 
late  excellent  Rev.  Thomas  Mortimer,  for  many  years  a  very  popular  cler- 
gyman in  London.  The  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Mortimer,  by  Mrs.  Bulmer  (John 
Mason,  London),  have  obtained  considerable  circulation.  Dr.  AVhitehead 
was  one  of  the  biographers  of  Wesley 

t  "  The  Rev.  H.  Foster  was  a  plain  and  deeply  pious  man,  without  any 
peculiar  decoration  of  taste,  st3-le,  or  eloquence  in  his  pjeneral  preaching. 
His  ministrations  were  much  valued,  chiefly  on  account  of  their  heart- 
searching  and  experiment.il  character.  On  certain  subjects,  so  great  was 
his  solemnity  of  manner,  especially  when  discoursing  upon  death  and  eter- 
nity, that  the  late  Mr.  ^Yilberforce  used  to  say  that  he  was  on  those  occa- 
sions the  most  eloquent  man  he  knew." — Eclectic  iN'oto  ;  or,  yotes  of  Dis- 
cussions on  religious  Topics  at  the  Meetings  of  the  Eclectic  Society,  London, 
during  the  years  1798-1S14.  Edited  by  John  H.  Pratt,  M.A.,  Archdeacon 
of  Calcutta.     Nisbet.     1856. 


1S4  THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

tou  road  prayers,  and  I  proadiod  at  City  Koad  from  1  Tiinotliy, 
iv.,  8.  My  sermon,  and  my  ieelini^s  in  the  delivery  of  it,  were 
of  the  middling  kind — neither  so  good  nor  so  bad  as  at  sonic 
other  times.  I  received  tlic  Lord's  Sujipcr  afterward.  In  the 
afternoon  I  was  going  to  hear  ^Nfr.  Clayton  again,  but,  fearing 
that  I  should  be  too  late,  turned  into  the  Pavement  Chapel, 
ilooiiields,  and  heard  Mr.  "Wall  on  haA'ing  God  for  our  God. 
At  G  I  preached  at  Wapping.  My  text  was  Isaiah,  Iv.,  G.  I 
■was  quite  out  of  ]ireaching  tune ;  but  the  love-feast  afterward 
made,  I  hope,  full  amends  for  the  ])overty  and  l)arreuncss  of 
the  sermon.  Low  and  discouraged  as  I  Avas,  I  felt  my  mind 
raised  and  comforted.  It  was  by  far  the  best  meeting  of  the 
kmd  that  I  have  yet  attended  in  London.  The  speaking  was 
rational,  judicious,  and  scriptural,  yet  very  lively  and  simple. 
And  now  I  am  at  home,  sadly  dissatisfied  Avith  myself,  but 
lioi)ing  and  resolving  to  dd  better,  if  the  God  of  all  grace  Avill 
but  condescend  to  aflbrd  me  His  help. 

"  Wednesday,  Oct.ldth.*  "We  liad  a  tolerable  congregation 
this  forenoon  at  Deptford.  ^Nly  text  was  Zeph.,  ii.,  3.  I  have 
reserved  ])art  uf  the  same  subject  for  the  evenhig.  Our  good 
friends  had  a  prayer-meeting  in  the  chapel  at  3  o'clock,  but  I 
thought  it  best  to  spend  the  afternoon  alone,  and  found  it 
profitable.  I  think  I  have  experienced  somewhat  of  the  sjiirit 
of  the  day.  I  am  humbled  and  affected  by  the  sincere  per- 
suasion and  conviction  that  I  am  one  of  the  chief  of  those  sin- 
ners whose  ingratitude  and  abuse  of  mercies  have  exposed  our 
coimtry  to  the  threatened  judgment.  But  'there  is  forgive- 
ness with  Thee.'  O  'pardon  my  ini(]uity,  for  it  is  great.' 
"While  preaching  in  the  evening,  I  had  much  comfort  and  lib- 
erty of  utterance,  attended  too,  I  humbly  trust  and  believe, 
with  some  holy  tmction  in  tlie  a]tiilieation  of  my  subj(>et.  1 
have  always  been  haunted,  as  a  i)reacher,  by  the  drunkards. 
Instances  of  this  might  be  adduced  in  my  last  circuit;  and  to- 
night an  officer  in  the  Volunteers  who  was  ])resent,  and  who, 
from  his  conduct,  I  conclude  must  have  been  ti])sy,  came  to 
me  as  soon  as  I  had  concluded,  very  politely  acknowledged 
the  pleasure  and  instruction  of  the  evening,  and  insisted  on 
my  acc(i)ting  half  a  crown !  I  could  not  escape  his  importu- 
nities otherwise  than  by  compliance;  sf>,  to  avoiil  making  a 

*  A  iKitioilnl  fa.sl-(l:iv. 


HIS   EARLY  MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  185 

bustle  in  the  chapel,  I  took  his  iiioucy,  iuforinmg  luni  tlmt  I 
would  uive  it  to  tlie  poor. 

'•'•  Fi'idaij  J^ix^nliKj^  Oct.  2l6(.  I  wrote  aiid  read  most  of  this 
morning,  then  went  to  Surrey  Chapel  to  hear  JMi*.  Jay.  But  I 
suppose  he  has  left  town,  for  there  Avas  another  gentleman  in 
the  pulpit,  who  spoke  so  low  that  I  could  hear  scarcely  any 
thing  of  what  he  said.  lie  was  ex'i^oimding  some  part  of  the 
Ilevelation.  I  was  in  my  study  all  the  afternoon,  and  this 
evening  preached  at  Saffron  Hill  to  about  forty  poor  people. 
My  text  was  Rev.,  iii.,  20,  from  which  I  was  enabled,  in  words 
more  than  usually  plain,  and  with  feelings  unutterably  tender 
and  airectionate,  to  call  smners  to  repentance,  and  to  offer 
them  mercy  and  salvation.  O  that  I  could  always  feel,  in 
preaching,  the  spirit  I  felt  to-iiight ! 

"  '  O  may  Thy  bowels  yearn  in  nic, 
Whene'er  a  wauderinf?  sheep  I  sec, 

Till  Thou  that  sheej)  retrieve  ! 
And  let  me  in  Thy  Sinrit  cry, 
^V^ly,  sinner  !  ■wilt  thou  perish,  Avhy, 

When  Jesus  bids  thee  live  ?' 

This  verse  is  the  prayer  of  my  inmost  soul. 

'■^Saturday  Evening.,  Oct.  22d.  Mr. Taylor  has  delivered  an 
interesting  exhortation  in  the  Penitents'  meeting  on  the  subject 
of  patient  waiting  for  God.  What  he  said  was  designed  to 
illustrate  and  defend  that  sentiment, '  Dare  not  set  thy  God  a 
time.'  The  ojiposite  practice  he  strongly  condemned,  though 
he  allowed  that  the  Lord  sometimes  condescends  to  the  weak- 
ness of  such  as  adojjt  it.  This  is  a  delicate  and  difficult  subject 
to  discuss  in  i)ublic,  but  it  was  treated  very  judiciously. 

"tStoidit]/,  Oct.  23d.  At  10,  after  reading  prayers,  I  preached 
at  Queen  Street,  from  Hebrews,  xi,,  26,  on  '  The  Reproach  of 
Christ.'  After  dining  at  Mr.  Middleton's,  I  went  with  Mrs.  M. 
to  Fetter  Lane  to  hear  Mr.  Burder.  He  disappointed  us ;  and 
some  stranger,  no  orator,  suppUed  his  place,  I  dare  say,  as  well 
fis  he  could." 

My  father  did  not  tlien  know  the  gentleman  whose  name  he 
thus  mentions,  the  late  Rev.  George  Burder,  one  of  tlje  secre- 
taries of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  When  he  became 
acquainted  with  him  as  a  man  and  as  a  preacher,  full  of  prim- 
itive simpUcity  and  zeal,  he  cherished  for  him  a  profound  affec- 


180  THE   LIFK   OF   JABEZ   BUNTIXCr. 

tlon  and  respect.  With  Mr.  l>urder's  son,  also,  the  liev.  Dr. 
Ileury  Forster  Burder,  a  model  Christian  ])astor,  my  father  be- 
came happily  intimate.  "Several  times,"  Dr.  Burder  writes 
me, "  he  favored  me  by  preaching  most  powerful  and  excellent 
sermons,  as  did  also  that  great  and  good  minister  of  Christ, 
Richard  Watson,  with  whose  friendship  I  was  favored,  and 
whom  I  greatly  revered  and  loved.  To  be  thus  favored  with 
the  i)ublic  services  of  these  two  most  talented,  most  useful,  and 
most  honored  servants  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  I  regard  as  a 
distinguished  privilege,  and  highly  did  my  congregation  appre- 
ciate their  ])Owerful  and  impressive  sermons.  It  was  also  grat- 
ifying to  nie  that  for  many  years  the  anniversary  meetings  of 
the  "NVeslcyan  Missionary  Society  for  Hackney  were  held  in  my 
chapel,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  me  to  comply  Avith  the  request 
to  preside  on  those  occasions.  Is  there  not  a  serene  delight  in 
the  exercise  of  Christian  love  ?  I  remember  that  many  years 
ago  I  heard  Dr.  Bunting  preach,  I  think  at  Queen  Street  Chapel, 
on  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal,  and,  in  my  judgment,  it  was  the 
most  powerful,  the  most  impressive,  and  the  most  touchmg  dis- 
eourse  I  ever  heard  on  that  striking  parable." 

My  father  i)roceeds :  "  I  had  the  pleasure  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
liutlerworth's  company  to  Chelsea.  i\Iy  text  Avas  Romans, 
viii.,  2,  which  I  had  several  reasons  for  selecting.  Though  my 
mind  Avas  in  a  very  good  frame,  and  I  felt  much  of  the  Divine 
l»resence,  I  preached  with  pain  and  difficulty.  For  many  Sun- 
days past,  after  the  forenoon  service,  I  have  been  troubled  with 
an  unusual  degree  of  headache.  To-night  the  ]xnn  was  so  vio- 
lent that  I  could  scarcely  speak  at  all.  Duiing  the  love-feast  it 
gradually  abated,  but  it  has  left  me  low  and  exhausted.  This 
has  been  a  long  day ;  and  now,  at  nearly  twelve  o'clock,!  con- 
elude  Have  us  ever  in  Thy  holy  keeping,  C)  Shepherd  of 
Isi-ael ! 

''Mo?idai/,  Oct.  24(/i.  This  morning  I  received  a  present  of 
Jay's  second  vohmie  from  Mr.  Critcldey,  together  with  an  in- 
vitation, which  I  shall  decline,  to  become  a  corresponding  mem- 
ber of  the  Philological  Society,  established  at  .Alanchester  by 
:Mr.  A.  Clarke.  Having  nowhere  to  i)reacli  this  evening,  I  have 
quite  enjoyed  my  retirement.  For  the  sake  of  half  an  hour's 
relaxation,  I  stepped  into  Mr.  Whitefield's  Tabernacle,  and 
lieard  some  very  noisy  gentleman  declaim  violently  upon  2 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  187 

Chron.,  vii.,  14.  I  was  glad  to  hear  his  zealous  i)liilii'>pics 
agahist  Antuiomianism,  though  I  was  at  a  loss  to  reconcile 
them  with  some  high  notions  before  advanced. 

"  Tuesday^  Oct.  25th.  I  preached  this  morning  at  5  o'clock 
to  exactly  the  usual  number  of  hearers,  from  Rev.,  iii.,  20,  If 
any  good  is  done  by  these  morning  lectures,  it  will  be  all  clear 
gain  over  and  above  my  calculations  and  expectations.  A  pray- 
er-meeting would  be  far  more  profitable  to  us  all.  I  have  been 
closely  employed  all  day  in  my  study,  and  preached  this  even- 
ing at  Grosvenor  Chapel,  from  Luke,  xv.,  2.  This  has  been  a 
good  day  in  spiritual  matters.     '  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !' 

"  Wednesday^  October  2Qth.  I  preached  this  evening  at  Spit- 
alfields  on  '  building  up  ourselves  on  our  most  holy  faith ;'  was 
much  complimented  by  some,  who  must  be  either  hj^socrites 
or  simpletons,  for  what,  I  know  and  am  sm-e,  was  a  very  poor 
sermon.  I  have  spent  about  three  hours  in  my  study  to-day, 
m  endeavoring  to  proA^de  for  the  people  '  things  new  and  old.' 

'■'■Thursday^  October  I'tth.  This  morning  I  finished  the  revisal 
of  an  excellent  pamphlet,  chiefly  written  by  Mr.  James  "Wood,* 
which  Mr.  Benson  had  requested  me  to  examme,  and,  if  I  liked 
it,  to  prepare  for  the  press.  It  is  entitled  '  Directions  and  Cau- 
tions addressed  to  the  Class-leaders  in  the  Methodist  connec- 
tion,' etc.  It  is  well  executed,  and  hkely,  I  think,  to  be  of  great 
use  to  the  body.  I  have  made  it  as  coi'rect  as  I  thought  it  pos- 
sible to  make  another  person's  work,  imless  I  had  Avritten  it 
wholly  over  again.  A  tract  on  this  subject  has  been  long  a 
desideratum  in  Methodism.  Xo  preacher  should  be  stationed 
in  London  who  has  not  traveled  at  least  a  dozen  years.  A 
young  man  just  entered  into  the  nihiistry  is  here  too  much  di- 
verted from  those  studies  which  he  ought  then  especially  to 
pursue  by  public  business  of  importance,  to  which  he  can  hard- 
ly refuse  to  attend,  but  which  materially  interferes  with  that 
private  improvement  which  at  his  time  of  Ufe  is  so  essential. 
I  have  now  at  least  three  weeks'  hard  work  of  this  kind  before 
me,  which  will  swallow  up  all  my  leisure.  Besides  other  mat- 
ters, I  am  urged  by  Mr.  Benson  to  transcribe  more  than  one 
hundred  pages,  for  the  Magazine,  from  Dr.  Magee's  Discourses 
on  the  Atonement.     This  valuable  work  is  now  out  of  piint, 

*  Tlie  minister  of  that  name,  of  whom  some  notice  will  be  given  here- 
after. 


ISS  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   IJUXTING. 

tliough  a  lartre  edilion  Avas  but  lately  imblishcJ.  I  borrowed 
a  coi»v  of  it  for  ]\Ir.  J>.  from  Dr.  Percival,  whose  relative  Dr. 
Magee  married;*  and  I  would  rather  not  t^end  it  to  a  comnum 
transeriber,  les^t  it  should  be  injured.  However,  I  ean  but  be 
doing  something ;  and  if  any  way  I  can  serve  God's  Church,  it 
is  an  honor  and  privilege  Avhich  I  do  not  at  all  deserve.  I 
dined  about  three  miles  from  town,  at  the  country  house  of  Mr. 
Smulius,f  between  Kingsland  and  Newuigton.  Mr.  S,  is  a  very 
sensible,  well-informed  man,  and  one  of  the  first  merchants  in 
tlie  city.  His  vnfe  was  a  INIiss  Smith,  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
They  have  some  of  the  most  engaging  children  I  ever  saw.  One 
little  boy,  just  beginning  to  talk,  is  a  perfect  beauty,  and  un- 
commonly interesting  in  his  manners.  If  I  were  rich,  and  his 
parents  poor,  and  willing  to  transfer  hun,  I  would  adopt  lum. 
Mr.  Steuikopft",  a  clergyman  of  the  Lutheran  Establishment, 
who  is  lately  come  to  be  minister  of  the  German  Church  in  the  ' 
Savoy,  was  of  our  party.  He  seems  to  be  a  truly  pious  man, 
and  of  a  most  amiable  spirit.  There  is  something  so  heavenly 
in  his  countenance  as  to  recall  to  my  mind  the  idea  I  have 
formed  of  the  visage  of  his  comitryman,  Mr.  Fletclier,  whom  lie 
appears  to  resemble  also  in  unaflected  hmnility  of  deportment. 
He  gave  me  a  very  pleasing  account  of  the  celebrated  Lavater, 
with  whom  he  was  i)crsonally  intimate.  I  have  paid  few  vis- 
its since  I  came  to  London  from  which  I  ha\  e  derived  more 
social  enjoyment,  intellectual  improvement,  and  Christian  edi- 
fication. 

''Friday  Khjlit, October  28t/i.  We  had  very  good  meetings 
for  prayer  both  at  noon  aiid  at  night.  I  have  seldom  found  it 
more  easy  or  more  sweet  to  pour  out  my  soul  unto  God  in  the 
].ublic  congregation  than  this  day.  Mr.  Benjamin  Sadler,  from' 
Leeds,  Mr.  Uingeldaubeu,t  the  German  minister,  and  Dr.  White- 

*  I  liavc  licartl  my  fatlior  tell  how,  when  the  lady  was  the  wife  of  a  yoiiiif:; 
clerfryman,  she  said  she  should  "never  bo  satisfied  until  she  ironed  her  hus- 
band's lawn  sleeves."     She  lived  to  enjoy  that  jileasurc. 

t  See  his  Biography,  well  worth  perusa'l,  in  the  Weslcyan  ]\Iethodist  l^Ia^- 
azine  for  l.Sr.S.  Prdbably  he  was  the  first  of  the  tliousands  of  Swedish 
Christians  who,  directly  cir  indirectly,  have,  l»y  Methodist  instrumentality, 
found  the  ]ieacc  and  jiower  of  rcli^^'ion. 

X  See  ]).  1G8.  liinReldauben's  zeal  and  success  as  a  missionary  in  South- 
cm  India  are  still  had  in  remeniljrance.  In  1S12  he  had  bai.tized  about 
seven  hundred  converts.     So  long  as  he  abode  in  his  jiruiicr  vocation  he  was 


Ills   EAKLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  189 

head,  took  tea  Avith  us.  We  were  much  mterested  in  their  con- 
versation. Mr.  Sadler  tells  me  that  the  notorious  Joanna  South- 
cote,  late  of  Exeter,  is  now  at  Leeds.  She  has  abandoned  the 
system  of  Richard  Brothers,  and  set  up  for  herself.  She  says 
that  she  is  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  mentioned  in  the  Rev- 
elation, and  such  as  beUeve  her  testimony  she  seals,  by  means 
of  red  wax,  to  the  day  of  Redemption.  Some  hmidreds  in 
Leeds  have  been  thus  sealed  of  late.  '  Any  thing,'  said  a  good 
man, '  does  Avith  the  devil,  and  any  thing  ^vii\\  the  Avorld,  except 
faith  and  repentance.' "  The  folloAvcrs  of  this  miserable  im- 
postor still  possess  some  mfluence  in  a  Lancashu-e  borough  en- 
franchised by  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832.  They  are  not  noAA^,  I 
presume,  sealed  with  red  wax,  but  are  knoAVii  by  their  large 
Avliite  hats,  long  beards,  and  coats  of  peculiar  cut.  A  deceased 
friend  of  mine  Avas  greatly  indebted  to  their  assistance  for  the 
long  retention  of  his  seat  in  ParUament.  They  are  unobtrusive 
citizens,  and  have  a  weary  look,  as  if  tired  of  waiting. 

'■''Sunday  JVir/ht,  October  30th.  This  morning  I  walked  to 
Deptford,  and  preached  in  the  forenoon  from  Jer.,  A'iii.,  22,  A\'ith 
considerable  comfort  and  liberty  of  mind ;  AAdiether  with  any 
success,  the  Great  Day  will  best  determine.  I  dined  with  Mr. 
Evans  and  his  family — ^very  pious,  well-informed,  and  agreeable 
people.  Most  of  the  afternoon  I  spent  in  trymg  to  raise  out 
of  the  depths  of  despair  a  poor  backsUder,  AA'hose  body  God  has 
permitted  to  fall  from  a  lofty  building,  in  order,  perhaps,  to  ac- 
complish the  restoration  of  his  soul.  The  whole  scene  was 
profitable,  though  melancholy,  and  surely  God  was  in  om*  midst. 
Oh,  it  is  an  evil  and  a  bitter  thing  to  Avander  from  the  fold  of 
the  Good  Shepherd.  So  prone  as  my  heart  has  been  to  back- 
sUdc,  I  Avonder  that  I  have  not  long  ago  been  filled  Avith  my 
OAATi  Avays.  But  I  am  a  child  of  many  and  peculiar  mercies ; 
and  God  is  Love !  Before  the  CA'eniug  service  I  had  to  bury 
the  corpse  of  one  who  died  well.  This  circimistance,  perhaps, 
contributed  to  increase  the  congregation,  Avliich  was  \inusually 
large ;  and  I  gave  a  faitliful  (and,  I  think  I  can  add,  an  affec- 

utterly  regardless  of  his  toils  and  hardships,  often  dining  contentedly  on  the 
coarse  grain  boiled  for  the  food  of  horses.  "No  man  knowcth  of  his  sep- 
ulchre unto  this  day;"  but  ere  he  died  he  doubtless  stood  on  some  Mount 
Nebo,  and  saw  the  Canaan  of  millennial  gloiy,  and  the  rest  -^vliirb  -  n^  -pvnm- 
ised  to  himself. — South  India  W/'sionary  Conference,  185S. 


190  TJIE    I.IFE    ^^tF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

tiunato)  ■warning  against  trifling  with  religion.  Tlic  text  was 
Luke,  xvii.,  32.  Oil,  may  I  never  be  the  tritler  I  reprove!  I 
fear  sometimes  that  I  am  but  half  awake.  As  there  were  sev- 
eral friends  from  town,  I  walked  home  with  them ;  to  shorten 
the  journey,  and  the  night  being  calm  and  light,  I  ventured  to 
cross  the  water.  One  of  my  companions  in  travel  M'as  a  young 
man,  who  atiectionately  inquired  for ,  mider  Avhose  minis- 
try he  was  brought  to  God  two  years  ago.  The  sermon  which 
he  said  was  particularly  useful  to  him  was  on  Phil.,  iii.,  20,  21 ; 
a  sermon,  by-the-by,  which heard  me  once  })reach  in  Old- 
ham Street,  and  of  Avliich  he  stole  the  substance  and  arrange- 
ment. 

'■'■Monday  Evening^  Oct.  Z\st.  I  was  last  night  more  restless 
than  usual  after  Sunday's  work.  At  half  past  2  this  morning 
it  seemed  impossible  that  I  should  sleep ;  so  I  rose,  and  heard 
IMr.  Taylor,  at  5,  preach  an  excellent  sermon  on  the  pleasures 
of  religion.  The  rest  of  the  day  I  spent  in  my  study ;  but,  in 
spite  of  repeat.ed  eiForts,  I  found  myself  incajiable  of  much 
close  application  to  any  thing.  I  have  no  headache,  nor  any 
other  positive  ailment,  but  am  dull  and  listless,  the  result,  I  sup- 
pose, of  last  night's  sleeplessness.  I  was  accompanied  to 
Snowsfields  in  the  evening  by  a  Mr.  Grant,  a  gentleman  with 
whom  I  became  acquainted  only  on  Saturday,  and  whose  histo- 
ry is  somewhat  extraordinary.  lie  is  a  man  of  inde))endent 
l)ropcrty,  of  uncommon  intellectual  and  literary  abilities,  and 
ex])resses  himself  more  elegantly  and  classically  in  conversation 
than  almost  any  man  I  ever  heard.  lie  has  for  many  years 
been  seeking  rest  for  the  sole  of  his  foot,  and  finding  none.  He 
has  l)een  a  Churchman,  a  Socinian,  a  Quaker;  and,  last  of  all, 
being  (lisai>p()inled  in  his  eflbrts  to  obtain  ])eace  of  mind,  he 
gave  up  all  religion,  and  was  fast  verging  toward  inlidelity. 
All  along  he  appears  to  have  been  a  sincere  inquirer  after  truth, 
though,  perliaps,  not  always  faithful.  lie  Avas  brought  uj»  to 
tlie  law,  and  was  adv:uitage(Misly  settled  in  it,  but,  from  con- 
scientious motives,  abandonee]  his  ])r()fession,  believing  the  in- 
discrimmate*  exercise  of  it  to  be  inconsistent  Avith  strict  integ- 

*  As,  indeed,  is  the  indiscriminate  exercise  of  any  jtrofession.  It  is  a  vul- 
gar error  to  suppose  tlint  the  attorney  is  bound  to  accept  wliatcver  retainer 
may  be  offered  to  liim;  nor  docs  any  Christian  gentleman  who  jiractices  at 
the  bar  dcflji^  M";  Imnds  with  ill-rnttrii  f.iin. 


niS   EARLY    MINISTRY   IN    LONDON.  101 

rity  aud  benevolence.  Of  the  real  Gospel  of  Clirist,  as  of  Meth- 
odism, he  knew  nothing,  till  about  six  weeks  ago  he  met  with 
]VIr.  Fletcher's  writings,  by  rcaduig  which  he  was  deeply  and 
fully  convinced  of  sin,  and  brought  into  great  distress  of  mind. 
One  morning,  after  agonizing  alone  in  })rayer  for  three  hours, 
he  was  completely  delivered  from  guilt,  and  received  an  assur- 
ance of  pardon.  xVnd  now  he  is  in  a  new  world.  He  knows 
not  hoAv  to  express  himself  in  our  phrases,  but  liis  account  of 
his  experience  and  views  is  astonishingly  rational,  scriptural, 
and  striking.  To  all  the  simplicity  and  humility  of  a  new-born 
babe  in  Christ  he  unites  the  most  exquisite  and  refined  good 
sense.  Altogether  there  is  something  very  singular  in  him  and 
about  him ;  he  is  very  desirous  to  be  useful,  and  seems  quite 
prepared  for  extensive  service;  but  Ave  can  not  help  thiukhig 
that  he  is  raised  up  for  some  special  purpose.  For  his  sake,  I 
preached  from  1  Peter,  iii.,  15,  and  never  had  more  Uberty  in 
speaking.  But  I  must  retire  to  rest,  that  I  may  rise  to  preach 
at  5  in  the  morning."  I  can  collect  no  farther  information  as 
to  this  interesting  man. 

"  Wednesday  Evening^  ]SFov.2d.  I  finished  at  Queen  Street 
my  sermon  on  Hebrews,  xi.,  26.  After  the  service,  as  usual  on 
the  first  Wednesday  of  every  month,  we  had  a  meeting  of  the 
leaders  for  spiritual  conversation  only.  Several  interesting  sub- 
jects were  well  discussed — subjects  of  an  experimental  kind. 
The  most  judicious  speakers  were  Mr,  Middleton,  Mr.  Francis, 
Mr,  Butterworth,  and  Mrs.  Mortimer.  The  last-named  individ- 
ual, at  my  desire,  concluded  by  prayer.  She  has  admirable  tal- 
ents, Wlien  I  consider  the  spirit  and  abilities  of  many  of  its 
leaders,  I  cease  to  wonder  that  the  Queen  Street  society  should 
so  much  excel  all  others  m  the  London  Circuit.  The  Lambeth 
society  ranks  next  to  it. 

'•'■Thursday,  November  3d.  I  preached  this  evening  at  Lam- 
beth from  1  Timothy,  iv,,  8,  and  met  the  leaders,  by  whom  I 
was  detained  till  nearly  10  o'clock,  partly  in  talking  about  a 
new  chapel,  which  is  much  Avantcd,  and  partly  in  examining  a 
poor  woman  accused  of  dishonesty.  The  case  was  complicated, 
but  her  guilt  Avas  proved,  and  ended  in  her  expulsion  from  the 
society, 

'■'■  F)'iday,  JSfovember  Wi.  I  have  spent  all  this  day  in  close 
confinement  to  my  study,  partlv  in  Avriting,  and  partly  in  read- 


192  THE  LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

ing  the  pcrioclicfil  works  of  the  month.  I  have  also  been  in- 
(liu'cd,  by  tlie  celebrity  of  a  pamphlet  on  the  state  of  })oliticaI 
parties  (which  has,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  ]tassed  to  a 
sixth  edition),  to  peruse  its  contents.  It  is  said  to  be  written 
by  Lord  Ibiwkesbury ;  is  an  able  defense  of  Mr.  Addington's 
administration,  and  discloses  several  facts  of  recent  occurrence. 
I  forgot  to  notice  above  my  attendance  on  two  prayer-meet- 
ings, viz.,  at  twelve  and  seven,  this  being  the  monthly  fast  for 
the  nation. 

"  Sunday^  N'ovemher  Gth.  At  Spitalfields  this  morning  I  read 
prayers  as  usual.  I  preached  from  Jude,  20,  21 :  'Praying  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,'  etc.  Blessed  be  God  for  His  gracious  pres- 
ence and  assistance!  For  the  first  time  since  my  coming  to 
London,  I  have  this  day  succeeded  in  my  attempt  to  dine  at 
home  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  have  had  great  comfort  hi  so  do- 
ing. At  3  o'clock  I  went  to  the  Scotch  Church,  London  Wall, 
and  heard  a  sermon  on  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  by  Mr. 
Young,  the  successor  of  Dr.  Hunter.  His  voice  is  musical,  and 
his  action  easy,  graceful,  and  modest.  But  the  sermon  disap- 
l)ointed  me.  It  was  too  apparent  that  he  had,  to  use  the  Scotch 
phrase,  Wtcn-aWy  mandated  it,  and  was  only  repeating  from  mem- 
oiy.  Tlicre  was  too  evident  an  attempt  at  oratory,  and  the 
discourse  itself  was  bare  and  commonplace,  unworthy  of  a  man 
who  preaches  only  twice  a  week.  Yet,  somehow  or  other,  I 
Avas  pleased,  and  not  unedified.  At  G  I  had  to  preach  a  mis- 
sionary sermon  at  the  New  Chapel.  ]\Iy  text  was  INIark,  xvi., 
15,  which  admitted  of  a  very  easy  and  natural  application  to 
the  subject  of  missions,  at  the  same  time  that  it  enabled  me  to 
introduce  topics  of  general  concern  to  the  congregation  them- 
selves. I  j)reached  a  long  sermon  with  great  enlargement  of 
heart,  and  with  more  than  common  utterance  and  animation. 
O  that  the  etlects  may  prove  that  there  was  much  of  the  mic- 
tion of  the  Holy  One! 

'■'■Monday^  N'ovemher  1th.  Messrs.  Rodda  and Whitefield  have 
dined  with  us,  and  spent  the  afternoon;  but  T  Avas  obliged  to 
leave  their  company,  though  both  pleasing  and  improving,  in 
order  to  comply  with  Mr.  Benson's  earnest  request  by  perus- 
ing, with  a  critic's  eye  and  with  a  critic's  pen  hi  my  hand,  his 
iiiMnuscrijit  against  Dr.  Hales  and  the  'C'hristian  Observer.'  I 
have  preached  tliis  evening  at  Wap)ting  on  1  Timothy,  iv.,  8. 


HIS    EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  193 

"  Tuesday^  November  %th.  The  morning  has  been  Avholly 
employed  in  the  revision  of  Mr.  Benson's  pamphlet,  partly  here, 
and  partly  at  his  own  house.  I  must  finish  this  work  on  Thurs- 
day when  I  return  from  Hammersmith  and  Brentford,  whither 
I  am  going  this  afternoon. 

"  Tuesday  Evening^  November  8th.  I  have  preached  this 
evening  for  the  first  time  since  my  arrival  in  London  in  a 
dwelling-house.  My  text  was  Acts,  iii.,  26.  I  am  informed 
that  ministers  certainly  expect  some  immediate  attempt  to  in- 
vade us  on  the  part  of  the  French.  These  are  awful  times. 
The  Lord's  hand  is  certainly  lifted  up,  and  on  whom  it  will  ul- 
timately fall  we  can  not  tell.  Happy  are  they  who  have  pro- 
tection, written  with  God's  own  hand,  and  ratified  by  His  most 
solemn  oath.  Such  may  well  have  strong  consolation  as  have 
Jehovah  for  their  refuge. 

"  Thursday,  November  lOth.  I  walked  from  Brentford  this 
morning,  which  has  robbed  me  of  much  time,  so  that  I  have 
not  done  much  to-day.  At  the  New  Chapel  this  evening  I 
preached  from  Zephaniah,  ii.,  3,  a  subject  which  I  feel  strongly 
inclined  to  speak  from  now,  in  hope  that  it  may  enable  me  to 
make  some  improvement  of  the  present  circumstances  of  our 
country.  While  at  prayer,  before  preaching,  in  my  room,  I  felt 
imusually  poor,  and  needy,  and  empty,  and  lifeless,  and  was 
afraid  I  should  have  a  comfortless  season  in  public.  But  in 
public  prayer,  in  preaching,  and  in  the  meeting  of  the  bands,  I 
was  greatly  helped  and  quickened,  and  praised  God  for  the 
consolation. 

"  Friday,  November  1 1  th.  This  is  a  very  sickly  season.  I 
scarcely  hear  of  or  meet  with  any  one  Avho  is  so  perfectly  and 
iminterruptedly  "well  as  myself.  This  is  Thy  doing,  O  Lord; 
may  it  be  marvelous  in  my  eyes !  On  my  retm-n  from  the  city 
to-day,  I  called  to  see  a  dying  woman,  eAddently  ignorant  of 
herself  and  of  God,  but  much  afraid  of  death.  How  foolish  the 
conduct  of  those  \^'\\o  leave  the  great  work  of  salvation  to  the 
close  of  life !  Their  folly  was  particularly  impressed  on  my 
mind  while  I  was  speaking  to  this  lady.  '  My  soul,  come  not 
thou  into  their  secret,'  nor  imitate  their  example !  God  grant 
that  I  may  be  habitually  prepared  for  that  which  may  any  mo- 
ment occur !  We  have  had  good  meetings  for  prayer  at  1 2 
and  7.    If  any  thing  save  this  country,  it  will  be  the  prayers  of 

Vol.  L— I 


194  TIIH    LIKE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

the  righteous,  who  now,  among  all  denominations,  so  zealously 
unite  their  eftbrts  in  this  way.  '  Fighting  without  prayer,'  says 
a  prelate  of  ibrmer  days, 'is  atheism,  just  as  jiraying  without 
lighting  Avould  be  presuinj)ti()n.'  Someliow  or  other,  my  ser- 
mon on  Mark,  xvi.,  15,  struck  the  })eople  much,  and  1  have  been 
repeatedly  importuned  to  print  it,  which  I  have  as  repeatedly 
refused.  This  morning  it  was  brought  forward  at  our  meeting, 
and  stated  as  the  request  of  many  that  the  preachers  would  lay 
tlicir  connnands  on  me.  Several  Avere  very  urgent ;  and  if  Mr. 
Taylor  and  Mr.  Story  had  not  espoused  my  right  to  judge  for 
myself,  I  should  have  been  overpowered  by  numbers.  I  have 
given  no  ])romise,  and  am,  for  many  reasons,  fully  resolved  to 
avoid  it,  if  possible.  It  is  too  soon  for  me  to  turn  author. 
You  doubtless  recollect  the  plan  of  the  sermon  as  preached  at 
Macclesfield.  I  request  your  serioj(s  judgment  of  it,  and  your 
advice  what  to  do  if  I  should  be  farther  urged  on  the  business. 
My  inclination  and  my  judgment  are  equally  against  publica- 
tion ;  though,  if  I  nuist  ])rint  any  of  my  sermons,  I  know  not 
that  I  could  select  one  more  pi'oper  on  the  whole. 

♦'  Saturday  Eceninrf^  Kovemher  1 2th.  Mr.  Benson  spoke  most 
admirably  in  the  Penitents'  meethig  to-night  on  'Now  is  the 
accepted  time,  and  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.'  He  is  a  truly 
great  man,  and  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament.  An- 
other week  is  gone  forever.  To  me  it  has  been  a  week  of 
temptation;  and  to-day  I  fear  I  have  been  chargeable  with  a 
siuiul  disposition  to  wander  from  the  central  source  of  bliss. 

'  Oil,  when  shall  all  my  wamlorinps  end, 
And  all  my  thoughts  to  Thcc-ward  tend?' 

Lord,  hasten  the  perfect  day ! 

'•'•  Sunday  Eoenhifj^  Kovemher  VMh.  This  forenoon  T  read 
prayers  at  SnowsHelds,  and  ])reached  a  charity  sermon  for  the 
I.enevok'nt  or  Strangers'  Friend  Society.  This  is  a  most  use- 
ful institution,  and  I  had  the  ])leasure  to  iind  that  the  collection 
was  a  very  large  one.  But  I  am  afraid  of  acquiring  too  good 
a  character  as  a  jiublic  beg[,Mr,  lest  I  shoidd  l)e  employed  in 
that  line  of  ministerial  duty  too  frccjuently.  My  text  was  Ga- 
latians,  vi.,  \).     After  dining  T  Avent  to  Mr. Townsend's*  Chapel 

♦  The  Inic  Rev.  .John  Tnwnsend,  of  Bermondsey,  uncle  of  the  Into  Rev. 
Dr.  Townsend,  Trchendary  of  Diiihain,  the  devout,  learned,  and  laborious 
.nuthor  of  the  Historical  and  Chronological  Arrran;^'cmcut  of  the  Old  and 
New  TcElam-jnt?. 


Ills    EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  i\)5 

ill  Jamaica  Row,  lioi)iiit^  to  lioar  liiin,  but  I  was  disappointed. 
I  preached  at  Rotherhithe  in  the  evening  from  1  Timothy,  i\-., 
8,  but  had  not  much  comfort  or  enk^rgcment. 

"  27iursdai/,  November  \1th.  In  the  evening  I  went  to  Peck- 
ham,  and  })rcached  from  1  Timotliy,  iv.,  8.  I  felt  a  great  de- 
sire to  be  the  instrument  of  doing  my  hearers  some  good,  and 
of  making  some  sahitary  impression  on  their  minds.  God  grant 
His  eftectual  blessing  to  what  was  said !  I  liave  this  night 
completed  my  first  tour  of  the  London  Circuit.  It  is  twelve 
Aveeks  since  I  entered  this  great  metropoUs.  Hitherto  the 
Lord  hath  helped  me ! 

'•'•  F)'iday^  Noviemher  18th.  The  former  part  of  this  day  was 
spent  wholly  in  my  study.  Our  national  prayer-meeting  this 
evenuig  was  but  thinly  attended ;  yet  the  great  Master  of  As- 
semblies was  there — sensibly  there,  I  venture  to  say,  notwith- 
standmg  the  insinuations  of  the  '  Christian  Observer'  to  the 
discredit  of  the  doctrine  and  phrase  of  sensible  influence  from 
the  Holy  One. 

'■'■  Saturday,  November  19 fh.  To-morrow  morning  the  use  of 
our  pulpit  in  the  City  Road  Chapel  is  to  be  granted  to  Mr. 
jNIadan,  a  Calvmist*  mhiister,  in  order  to  preach  a  funeral  ser- 
mon for  Mr.  Dewey,  the  gentleman  whose  death,  in  consequence 
of  an  unfortunate  accident  occurring  during  a  mock-fight  of  the 
Volunteers  near  Highbury,  has  been  so  much  noticed  in  the 
pubhc  papers.  I  was  busy  writing  this  evening,  and  did  not 
go  to  the  Penitents'  meeting. 

"  Sunday  Evening,  November  20th.  My  ajipointmcnt  this 
forenoon  was  for  Grosvenor  Chapel,  where  I  preached  from 
Zcphaniah,  ii.,  3.  I  dined  with  j\Ir.  Brown,  who  formerly  re- 
sided in  Manchester,  and  was  intimately  acquainted  with  my 
father  long  before  I  was  born.     '  Thine  own  and  thy  father's 

*  The  use  of  the  word  "  Calvinist"  in  reference  to  evangelical  Dissenters 
was  very  common  among  the  Methodists  fifty  years  ago.  Points  of  doc- 
trine were  much  more  thought  of  than  points  of  ecclesiastical  order.  Even 
in  these  days  we  talk  of  a-  "  Socinian"  or  of  a  "  Unitarian"  minister  with- 
out knowing  or  indeed  caring  any  thing  about  his  theory  or  practice  of 
chm-ch  government.  INIy  father  used  the  ordinary  language  of  tlie  time. 
Yet  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  a  Calvinist  from  being  a  private  member  of 
the  Methodist  society.  With  one  such  man,  who,  by  his  zeal  and  liberality, 
commenced  a  work  which  ended  in  the  establishment  of  an  extensive  cir- 
cuit, my  father  was  well  ac-quainted. 


196  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BU^"TI^■c;. 

friend  forsake  not,'  is  a  precept  of  Scripture  ■wliich  ought  to  be 
obeyed.  3Iay  I  never  forsake  my  father's  God!  This  Avould 
be  an  act  of  still  greater  ingratitude  and  weakness.  At  0  P.M. 
I  preached  at  Lambeth  on  Jeremiah,  viii.,  22,  and  afterward 
met  the  society.  The  former  part  of  this  day  I  found  it  very 
good  to  wait  upon  God.  Li  the  evening  I  was  not  quite  so 
comfortable.  But  'my  times  are  in  Thy  hand' — my  limes  of 
special  consolation  and  enlargement;  and  I  am  content  that 
they  should  remain  in  His  hand,  and  be  subject  to  His  appoint- 
ment. Physic  is  sometunes  quite  as  necessary  as  cordials  are 
at  other  seasons. 

'■^  Jlondai/,  JVbi'embcr  2lst.  This  morning  brought  me  a  let- 
ter from  my  dear  mother,  conveymg  the  welcome  intelhgence 
that  my  elder  sister  has  been  again  persuaded  to  meet  in  class. 
I  hope  she  will  set  out  afresh  ui  the  good  ways  of  God.  I  have 
finished  my  abridgment  of '  Dr.  Magec  on  Atonement  and  Sac- 
rifice,' Avhich  has  swallowed  up  so  much  of  my  leisure  of  late. 
I  feel  my  mind  relieved  as  from  a  heavy  burdei?,  but  I  must 
not  complain,  as  perhaps  these  extracts,  when  printed,  may 
long  survive  him  that  made  them,  aud  be  doing  good  Avhen  I 
am  mouldering  in  the  grave.  I  sometimes  wonder  where  that 
grave  will  be.  But  when,  how,  and  where  we  must  die,  are 
circumstances  alike  inscrutable,  and  aKke  of  inferior  import- 
ance, if  we  do  but  live  and  die  well."  If  my  fither  had  looked 
out  of  the  window  of  the  room  in  which  he  wrote  these  words, 
he  Avould  have  seen,  Avithin  twenty  yards  of  him,  the  very  spot 
where  his  precious  remains  are  now  interred.  How  near  are 
we  all  to  our  graves,  and  how  simple  will  be  the  solution  of 
many  questions  winch  vex  our  thoughtful  hoiu's  ! 

"  Tuesdai/  Jrorjiuif/,  JVova/ihcr  22d.  I  preached  this  morn- 
ing at  5  on  '  Praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost.'  A  short  text  and  a 
slender  congregation  justified  a  short  sermon,  and  the  two  doc- 
tors— Hamilton  and  Caddick — filled  up  the  hour  profitably  in 
prayer. 

"  Tuesdffi/  J:Jecni)if/^  N'ovonhcr  22d.  This  afternoon  we  had 
a  violent  storm  of  wind  and  liail,  accompanied  with  thunder 
and  lightning.  Nevertheless,  I  walked  to  Kentish  Town,  and 
preached  there  Irom  Psalm  Ivii.,  1.  Mr.  Cordeux  was  my  com- 
panion home,  and  made  this  lonesome  walk  more  safe  and  more 
agreeable. 


Ills  EARLY  MINISTRY  IN   LONDON.  197 

"  Wednesday  Evening^  Ifovemher  23(7.  I  resolutely  refused 
all  invitations  for  to-day,  and  tried  to  make  good  use  of  my  re- 
tirement. At  7  o'clock  P.M.  I  preached  at  Queen  Street  from 
Titus,  ii.,  12,  and  met  the  leaders  afterward. 

"  T/iursday  Ecening^  November  l^tli.  The  forenoon  of  to- 
day was  spent  in  visiting  a  few  of  the  society  at  this  end  of  tlie 
town.  The  afternoon  was  occupied  in  reading.  At  5  I  went 
by  appointment  to  take  tea  at  Mr.  Thomas  Hunter's.  He  is 
Calvinistic  in  his  sentiments,  and  an  enthusiastic  admirer  and 
panegyrist  of  Mr.  Komaine  as  an  author.  To  some  of  Mr.  R.'s 
works  he  chiefly  owed,  under  God,  his  first  religious  consola- 
tions. Mrs.  H.  is  a  decided  Methodist  in  her  opinions.  Both 
were  very  friendly,  and  Avalked  with  me  to  Chelsea,  where  I 
preached  from  1  Timothy,  iv.,  8. 

'•'•Friday^  November  SOth.  This  morning  I  held  a  long  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Butterworth  on  many  interesting  siibjects, 
private  and  public ;  then  attended  the  prayer-meeting  in  the 
morning  chapel.  Surely  so  many  prayers  for  our  coimtry  can 
not  go  unanswered. 

"  Saturday^  6  d'clocl^^  December  \st.  This  forenoon  was 
spent  as  usual  in  the  Preachers'  meeting.  Mr.  Entwisle's  ex- 
cellent Essay  on  Secret  Prayer  is  to  be  inserted  in  the  March 
Magazine.  This  afternoon  I  have  been  reading  a  very  famous 
work  by  Mr.  Eden  (noAV  Lord  Auckland)  on  the  Principles  of 
Penal  Law,  which  has  pleased  and  edified  me.  The  doctrines 
of  it  may,  by  analogy,  be  applied  to  confirm,  on  natural  grounds, 
the  eternity  of  future  punishment,  with  a  view  to  which  dogma 
of  the  Christian  faith  it  was  that  I  engaged  in  the  perusal  of 
this  law-book. 

'■''Monday^  December  5th.  I  bless  God  that  I  continue  bet- 
ter, and,  indeed,  am  nearly  as  well  as  usual.  I  was  at  Gros- 
venor  Chapel  yesterday,  but  only  met  two  classes,  as  Dr.  Ham- 
ilton prohibited  my  preaching.  In  the  evening  we  went  (that 
is,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Middleton  and  myself)  to  hear  Mr.  Cecil,  and 
I  have  not  taken  any  fresh  cold.  Mr.  C.  preached  an  excellent 
sermon  on  Temptation.  My  expectations  from  him  had  been 
raised  very  high  by  the  perusal  of  his  biographical  Avorks ;  and 
as  to  his  matter  I  was  not  disappointed.  His  manner  was  not 
such  as  I  had  supposed.  In  that  respect,  he  is  inferior  to  my 
favorite,  Mr.  Clayton.     I  understand  that  the  sennon  of  last 


198  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

nifjlit  was  a  very  fair  aixl  accuvato  specimen  of  liis  jjencral 
l»iTacliiii,u:.  If  so,  I  lliiiik  he  lias  tlie  faults  common  to  many 
Cah  inists.  lie  sets  the  .staiulard  of  Christian  experience  and 
enjoyment  much  lower  than  the  Scriptures  do,  and  does  not 
take' sufficient  pains  to  make  strong  and  immediate  impressions 
on  the  consciences  of  the  unawakened.  On  the  whole,  I  Avas 
very  much  delighted,  though  I  acknowledge  the  justice  of  a 
critique  on  Mr.  Cecil  as  a  preacher,  made  in  my  hearing  by  ]\Ir. 
Symons,  a  pious  clergyman.  He  said, '  Mr.  Cecil  is  a  very  Avise 
preacher.  He  is  a  second  Book  of  Ecclesiastcs.  Yet  I  should 
Uke  him  better,  and  he  would  do  more  good,  if  he  were  rather 
a  second  Epistle  to  the  Romans.'  To-night,  after  a  tedious  but 
perhaps  profitable  exclusion  from  it  for  a  week,  I  hope  again  to 
take  the  pulpit.  I  am  expected  to  preach  at  Queen  Street,  and 
am  imwiUhig  to  disappoint  the  congregation,  especially  as  my 
face  is  nearly  well. 

"  2'ucsday,  December  Gth.  I  sat  most  of  this  forenoon  at  Mr. 
Butter  worth's,  hstening  i)artly  to  his  account  of  a  long  conver- 
sation which  he  had  on  Friday  with  Mr.  Wilbcrforce  on  the 
subject  of  the  Jamaica  IVrsecution  Act,  and  ])artly  to  the  ac- 
count given  by  Mr.  Cami»bell  (our  own  missionary  lately  im- 
prisoned there,  Avho,  to  avoid  confinement  for  life,  has  lied  to 
England,  and  is  now  in  London)  of  the  grievous  sufferhigs  in- 
llicted  on  him  for  iireachhig  the  Gospel  to  negroes.  In  the 
afternoon  I  went  by  coach  to  Dei)tford,  and  have  preached 
there  on  Titus,  ii,,  12, 

"  Friday,  December  Qth.  I  sat  an  hour  this  morning  at  Mr. 
Buhner's.  ]\[rs.  B.  is  not  only  a  very  i)ious,  but  a  very  accom- 
plished lady.*  I  have  met  with  few  women  that  equal  lier  in 
point  of  extensive  iulnnnation.  At  noon  1  allciidctl  ilie  inter- 
cession-meeting, and  in  the  afternoon  acconqtaiiii'(l  .Mr. Taylor 
to  difl'erent  parts  of  the  city  to  meet  classes.  It  was  nearly  0 
o'clock  bef<»rc  we  reached  home. 

'■'■  Su/i(h(>/,  December  11///.  I  arrived  at  Woohvich  alxiuf  10 
this  morning,  and  have  jireachcd  thicc  times,  and  givi'U  tickets 
to  all  the  society  there.  iMy  texts  were  Hebrews,  xi.,  24;  1 
Tunothy,  iv.,  8 ;  and  Acts,  iii.,  26.  In  Woolwich  alone,  of  all 
the  i)laces  in  the  London  Circuit,  they  require  the  same  ])reach- 

*  Sec  "Sclcrt  Lottcrs  of  Mrs.  Annt-s  IJulmcr,  witli  an  Introduction  and 
Notes,  by  the  Kcv.  "\V.  M.  Bcnting."     1842.     Simpkin  and  Marsluill. 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  199 

er  to  ofliciate  three  times  in  one  day.  This  has  been  the  hest 
Sab))ath  I  have  had  for  some  time.  I  have  been  favored  with 
considerable  enlargement  and  comfort.  I  accepted  a  kind  in- 
vitation from  Mr.  Bakewell,  of  Greenwich,  whither  I  walked 
after  service,  and  spent  an  agreeable  hour  with  this  pleasing 
and  amiable  family.  Though  I  have  had  much  more  labor  to- 
day than  ever  before  fell  to  my  lot  since  I  left  Macclesfield,  I 
feel  very  little  weariness  compared  Avith  what  I  used  to  expe- 
rience from  sunilar  exertions:  a  proof  that  my  health  and 
strength  are  improved.  Blessed  be  the  Giver  of  all  good  gifts ! 
'■'■  3Ionday,  December  12th.  All  the  politicians  are,  at  pres- 
ent, full  of  the  correspondence  relative  to  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
My  opinion,  if  I  have  any,  is  that  the  prince's  ofl'er  is  more 
zealous  than  prudent,  and  that  the  pubhc  good  requires,  under 
pi'csent  circumstances,  that  both  the  king  and  the  heir-apparent 
should  sacrifice  their  private  feehngs,  however  noble  and  com- 
mendable, by  avoiding  dangers  of  actual  warfare,  at  least  till 
the  last  extremity.  At  the  critical  moment  of  invasion,  if  the 
chances  of  war  should  prove  fatal  to  both  (a  possible  case,  if 
they  be  actively  engaged),  the  coimtry  would  be  greatly  em- 
barrassed when  left  to  the  government  of  a  regency,  as  the 
crown  would  be  left  to  the  young  Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales. 
Whatever  other  reasons  may  have  operated  to  produce  the  re- 
fusal of  the  i)rince's  desire,  I  think  this  one  is  sufficient  to  just- 
ify it ;  only  it  would  certainly  have  applied  with  equal  force  to 
prevent  his  appointment  to  a  colonelcy  of  dragoons,  and  to 
prohibit  the  king  himself  from  taking  the  command  of  the 
army,  as  he  has  announced  his  design  to  do.  Lackington  has 
become,  like  St.  Paul,  a  preacher  of  the  faith  which  once  he  de- 
stroyed. It  was  to  me  unaccountable  that  he  does  not  buy  up 
all  the  remaining  copies  of  his  '  Lile,'  and  so  prevent  the  sale. 
If  he  do  not  this,  I  shall  begin  to  think  that  his  pretended  re- 
cantation  is  all  mere  cantation.^ 

*  He  did  try;  but  the  copyright  did  not  belonp  to  him.  Of  course,  he 
was  but  occasionally  employed  in  prcachinp,  and  that  in  a  destitute  neij^h- 
l>orhood.  Not  very  long  ago  I  heard  a  young  man  rebuked  in  a  Friend's 
meeting  in  terms  which  often  recur  to  the  memory.  Possibly  he  was  of 
doubtful  reputation.  He  had  scarcely  begun  his  testimony,  when  a  grave 
elder  rose  and  said,  "We  shall  be  better  jileascd  if  thou'lt  be  quiet."  How 
soothing  the  stillness  which  immediately  fell  upon  the  assembly ! 


200  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

'■'■  3fo7i(lay  Evenhiff^  December  V2tlt.  I  lia<l  classes  to  meet 
this  ovi'iiiiii;  1)otli  beiorc  and  after  service  at  lloxton.  My 
text  Avas  Psalm  Ivii.,  1.  I  took  supper  with  one  ol"  the  lead- 
ers, who  lives  in  our  o^^ti  neighborhood.  The  circle  of  agree- 
able friends  continues  to  enlarge  around  nie." 

Dec.  \3(/t,  1803,  my  father  writes  to  Mr.  Marsden,  speaking 
of  ]Methodisni  in  London,  "I  think  we  should  do  much  better, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  if  two  things  could  be  accomplished: 
one,  an  increase  of  the  number  of  traveling  preachers  from  six 
to  nine,  or,  at  least,  to  eight.*  Without  this,  some  important 
jjlaces,  both  in  town  and  country,  such  as  Snowsfields,  Lam- 
beth, Grosvenor  Market,  Chelsea,  AYoolwich,  Twickenliani,  and 
Brentford,  will  never  have  a  fair  trial.  It  is  probable  that  at 
the  next  Conference  this  will  be  done.  2.  A  division  of  the 
circuit  into  two  or  three  branches ;  e.f/.,  London,  Westminster, 
and  South w ark.  In  order  to  meet  the  prejudices  of  some  re- 
spectable friends  against  this  measure  (which  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  i\Ir.  Taylor  and  myself,  as  well  as  of  Mr.  Benson  and  the 
other  ])reaclicvs  who  talked  of  it  last  year,  abst)lutely  essential 
to  the  due  administration  of  discipline),  the  Sunday  plan  might 
still  be  general  for  all  the  town  cha])els,  and  the  pecuniary 
concerns  of  the  societies  might  all  remain  under  the  manage- 
ment of  one  steward  and  one  Quarterly  Meeting  ;  but  the  su- 
perintendency,  which  is  a  mere  name  at  present,  should  be 
divided  between  two  or  three  jiersons,  and  there  should  be  a 
separate  week-day  plan  for  the  ]n-eachers  ajjpointed  to  each 
district  branch  of  the  circuit.  Till  something  of  this  kind  be 
adopted,  there  can  be  none  of  that  uumaiL'nnl  j}astors/iip  and 
oversifjJit  of  the  flock  which  the  New  Testament  enjoins  as 
universally  necessary.  Mr.  Benson's  own  advertisement  has 
befoie  Ihis  informed  you  what  improvements  he  intends  mak- 
ing in  the  Magazine.  I  wish  he  may  ])erform  all  he  has  prom- 
ised :  he  takes  great  pains  ;  and  I  liave  no  doubt  that  the  work, 
under  his  management,  will  be  altered  much  for  the  better. 
Materials  for  it  crowd  in  from  all  ciuarlers.  On  this  and  other 
accounts,  I  do  think  you  had  ln'tter  withhold  the  Account  of 
the  Conversion  of  a  Deist :  I  will  return  it  when  I  have  an  op- 
portunity.    Of  ]\Ir. some  suspicions  are  reported.     All 

*  The  number  of  members  of  society  in  London,  ns  returned  at  the  Con- 
ference of  1803,  was  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  ciKbty. 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   LONDON,  201 

persons  enthusiastically  or  schismatically  disposed  are  danger- 
ous in  our  connection  to  its  peace  and  permanency;  and  the 
more  pious  in  their  general  character,  the  more  dangerous.  I 
have  hardly  room  to  answer  your  inquiries  about  Miss  M.  Our 
acquaintance  continues,  and  is  likely  some  time  or  other  to 
result  in  one  still  more  intimate.  You  married  at  the  com- 
mencement of  a  second  year  in  the  London  Circuit ;  whether  I 
shall  follow  your  example  in  that  point  is,  therefore,  rather  an 
odd  question.  If  I  had  your  talents  and  popularity,  perhaps  I 
may  not  have  your  influence,  nor  any  influence  sufticient  to 
procure,  if  I  wanted  it,  a  second  year  here.  But  more  of  this 
some  time  else." 

"  Tuesdcnj  Evening^  December  IZth.  I  preached  this  morning 
at  5  on  '  Keeping  ourselves  in  the  love  of  God,'  and  foimd  it 
better  to  be  there  than  I  usually  have  done  on  these  occasions. 
I  dined  at  3  with  Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  Buhner,  and  had  some  most 
interestuig  conversation.  At  7  I  preached  in  the  New  Chapel 
on  Hebrews,  xi.,  24. 

''^  Wednesday  Evening,  December  14th.  I  have  preached  at 
Stratford  with  more  than  common  comfort  on  Jer.,  viii.,  22, 
and  supi)Gd  at  Mr.  Benson's  on  my  return.  By-the-by,  this 
liberty  of  staying  out  to  supper,  as  well  as  many  other  lil;)erties 
I  now  enjoy,  will  be  abridged  or  abolished.  But  I  think  the 
yoke  Avill  be  easy,  and  the  chains,  though  firm  as  adamant,  will 
be  soft  as  velvet. 

"  T/iursdag,  December  loth.  This  day  has  been  wholly  spent 
in  my  study ;  only  I  just  stepped  into  the  chapel  at  V,  and 
heard  Mr.  Benson  on  '  Walking  so  as  to  please  God.' 

"  Saturday,  December  2Uh.  I  have  to  preach  three  times  to- 
morrow and  read  prayers  ;  twice  in  my  own  turn,  and  once  at 
the  Xew  Chapel  at  5  in  the  morning  for  ]Mr.  Taylor,  who  is 
very  poorly.  All  next  week  my  places  are  to  be  supplied,  that 
I  may  be  at  liberty  to  attend  to  the  affairs  of  the  Missions  and 
of  the  Book  Committee. 

"  Wednesday,  December  2Qth.  I  am  quite  tired  of  the  cares 
of  busmess,  and  shoidd  be  glad  instantly  to  return  to  my  ac- 
customed duties.  I  find  so  bustling  a  life,  spent  in  such  em- 
ployments, not  very  favorable  to  my  spiritual  interests.  Pray 
for  me.     I  never  needed  help  more." 

12 


202  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUXTIXG. 

"  Manchester,  Tuesday,  2  o'clock,  January  17th,  1804." 
(Tlicse  are  extracts  froni  my  father's  last  letter  to  Miss 
Maclardie  before  their  marriage.)  "  On  Thursday  evening 
next  you  may  expect  my  mother  and  myself  to  arrive.  Her 
anxious  desire  to  see,  and  jjcrsonally  to  know,  before  slie  dies, 
the  intended  "wife  of  her  only  son,  prevails  over  every  other 
consideration,  and  she  seems  to  anticipate  with  much  delight 
the  expected  interview. 

"  As  to  Derby,  I  am  inclhicd  to  think,  from  particular  local 
circumstances,  that  my  comi)liance  might,  perha2)s,  do  some 
good.  Nor  do  I  feel  any  particular  dislike,  but  rather  the 
contrary,  to  the  idea  of  preaching  on  the  evening  of  my  wed- 
ding-day. Perhajjs,  in  a  religious  view,  it  may  even  be  desir- 
able. On  Sunday  I  was  urged  to  preach  at  Salford  in  the 
forenoon,  and  at  Oldham  Street  in  the  evening,  wliich  I  ac- 
cordingly did,  to  very  crowded  congregations,  and  with  as  much 
indifference  to  their  censure  or  applause  as  I  ever  felt  in  my 
life.  I  wish  I  may  always  be  kept  as  '  single  of  eye  and  simple 
of  heart.'  My  first  text  was  1  Timothy,  iv.,  8;  my  second, 
Hebrews,  ii.,  2-4.  My  sermons  were,  in  my  own  opinion, 
which  you  ask  me  to  tell  you,  of  the  middle  class  as  sermons, 
and  I  thought  I  had  more  than  common  liberty  and  unction  in 
my  exhortations  and  applications.  I  should  not  at  all  wonder 
if  my  friend  Wood  be  influenced,  either  l)y  affection  to  me  or 
curiosity,  or  both,  to  come  and  sec  us  married.  He  has  inti- 
mated as  much  in  an  indirect  way.  Well,  my  dearest  friend, 
the  time  of  our  union  now  draws  nigh.  Before  this  time  next 
Tuesday  I  hojjc  to  have  the  honor  and  happiness  (undeserved, 
I  deeply  feel)  of  calling  you  9nine.  Let  us  on  this  occasion 
give  ourselves  afresh  to  God,  and  then  to  each  other  by  the 
will  of  God.  I  trust  this  event  will  be  the  commencement  of 
a  new  era  in  my  religious  as  well  as  in  my  domestic  life. 
When  I  look  back  to  the  years  that  are  gone,  I  blush  and 
tremble  to  perceive  Avliat  a  sinner  and  what  a  trifler  I  liave 
been.  Truly  it  is  high  time  for  me  to  awake  out  of  sleep.  I 
shall  now  be  more  than  ever  responsible  to  God  for  my  tem- 
pers and  conduct,  I  feel  that,  in  giving  you  to  mo,  Divine 
Providence  lays  me  under  sti'onger  obligation  than  before  to 
be  grateful  and  obedient,  and  that  you,  whom  my  influence, 
example,  and  deportment  may  so  jiowerfully  aftect,  as  well  as 


niS  EAKLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  203 

our  common  Governor,  have  a  right  to  cxiject  my  most  stren- 
uous endeavors  to  be  holy,  devoted,  and  usefid.  Lord,  help  a 
helpless  worm !" 

Thus  ends  this  series  of  notices  of  my  father's  early  ministe- 
rial course.  His  occasional  letters  to  my  mother  are  the  only 
resources,  for  the  same  kind  of  material,  Avhich  are  now  availa- 
ble. He  could  give  no  greater  proof  of  his  deep  love  to  her 
than  that  he  thus  overcame  his  constitutional  aversion  to  talk 
about  himself.  There  are  no  other  journals  extant.  I  do  not 
think  that  any  other  were  written  ;  and  through  life  he  avoid- 
ed the  snare,  uito  which  some  great  men  have  fallen,  of  main- 
taining an  extensive  miscellaneous  corrcsj)ondence. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EAELY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON Coucludecl. 

Marriage. — Letter  of  Condolence  to  Mr.  Entwisle. — Difficulties  at  the  Book- 
room  and  as  to  Missions. — Bold  Measures. — Connectional  Finance. — 
Young  Ministers  in  the  Metropolis. — The  Eclectic  Review. — John  Foster. 
— Triennial  Appointments. — Henry  Moore. — Death  of  Dr.  Percival. — An 
old  Preacher's  Wife. — Disputes  as  to  Singing. — Defense  of  Evangelical 
Arminianism. — Difficulties  in  accepting  an  Invitation  to  Manchester. — 
Early  Opinions  on  the  State  of  Connectional  Literature  and  on  the  Edu- 
cation of  the  Methodist  Ministry. — Earliest  Publication. — Close  of  his  first 
Career  in  London. 

On  Tuesday,  January  24th,  1804,  Jabez  Bunting  was  married 
to  Sarah  Maclardie,  at  the  parish  church  of  Prestbury,  near 
Macclesfield.  The  same  evening  he  preached,  according  to  en- 
gagement, at  Derby,  on  1  John,  i.,  9.  The  following  Sabbath 
he  took  his  regular  appointments  m  his  own  circuit,  and  at  once 
resumed  his  other  usual  duties.  He  thus  details  the  circum- 
stances attending  his  marriage  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Marsden : 
"  Of  the  event  to  which  I  have  just  referred  you  have  doubt- 
less heard  before  now.  It  took  place  on  the  24th  of  January, 
at  Prestbury.  Mr.  Heapy,*  Mr.  EntAvisle,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen, 
Messrs.  Albiston  and  Wood,  with  my  good  mother  from  Man- 
chester, Miss  Hale,f  and  Mr.  Maclardie,  favored  us  with  their 

*  The  officiating  clergyman, 

t  The  lady's  maternal  aunt.  She  thought  she  could  trace  her  descent 
from  Su-  Matthew  Hale. 


204  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

company  on  the  occasion ;  and  I  trust  that  He  who  once  at- 
tended a  marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee  was  also  present  with  us, 
to  approve  and  to  bless  our  union.  Pray  for  us,  that  we  may 
never  forfeit  His  approbation  and  blessing.  Our  proper  liome 
is  at  City  Road,  where,  besides  the  room  that  regularly  belongs 
to  me,  we  have  the  use  of  the  large  drawing-room  on  the  sec- 
ond floor.  We  dine  with  the  family,  but  at  other  times  are 
alone.  Our  situation  is  therefore  as  comfortable  as  we  can  ex- 
pect under  such  circumstances.  But  we  have  spent  a  month 
since  our  arrival  at  Mr.  Middleton's,  and  are  now  paying  a  sim- 
ilar visit  at  Mr.  Butterworth's.  The  hospitality  and  kindness 
of  our  friends  in  London  are  truly  great.  But  I  beg  pardon 
for  having  said  so  much  about  myself  and  my  concerns." 

The  Book-room — the  establishment  at  Avhich  the  standard 
publications  of  the  connection  are  vended — was  at  this  time  m 
trouble,  and  Mr.  Lomas,  who  had,  when  yomig,  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  secular  concerns,  was  urgently  invited  to  examine 
into  its  atiairs.  He  sought  my  father's  counsel.  "  You  well 
know,  my  brother,"  he  says,  after  congratulating  his  friend  on 
his  new  relationship,  "  that  in  every  state  and  place  our  God  is 
our  All.  Blessed  be  His  name,  He  is  still  my  own,  and  I  would 
not  lose  Him  for  all  the  world.  What  tliink  you  ?  You  are 
my  friend,  and  you  are  on  the  spot  to  see  and  hear  what  pass- 
es :  should  I  be  in  danger  of  losing  Him  among  books,  and  fig- 
ures, and  toils,  and  scrapes  in  the  Methodist  Book-room  ?  Or 
do  you  suppose  I  have  a  Providential  call  to  go  thither,  at  least 
for  a  few  weeks,  if  I  could  be  spared  from  my  circuit  ?  I  can 
truly  say  I  have  not  sought  this ;  far  from  it ;  nor  do  I  think  it 
desirable  for  its  own  sake ;  quite  otherwise ;  but  I  Avant  to  know 
and  to  do  the  will  of  God  by  spending  my  time  and  strength 
in  that  Avay  which  will  bring  glory  to  His  name,  and  serve  the 
Methodist  connection,  which  I  love  so  dearly." 

To  his  friend,  Mr.  Entwislc,  whose  wife  had  just  died,  my  fa- 
ther wrote  a  letter  of  condolence,  from  which  I  give  some  ex- 
tracts : 

"London,  March  24tli,  1804. 

"  My  very  dear  Friend, — Mr.  Morley's  kind  letter,  Avhich 
arrived  four  or  five  days  before  yours  of  the  1 9th  instant,  brought 
me  the  tidings  which,  though  thoy  did  not  surprise,  deeply  af- 
fected and  grieved  me.     I  most  tenderly  sympathize  with  my 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY   IN  LONDON.      •  205 

beloved  friend  in  his  heavy  affliction,  the  poignancy  of  which,  I 
think,  I  know  how  to  estimate,  so  far  as  it  can  be  estimated  by 
one  who  lias  not  personally  experienced  a  similar  deprivation. 
May  that  blessed  Spirit  who  is,  emphatically  and  by  office, '  the 
Comforter,'  do  His  office  for  you !  As  for  me,  I  know  not  what 
to  say  to  you.  I  would  gladly  be,  if  I  possessed  the  ability, '  as 
one  that  comforteth  the  mourners ;'  but,  as  balm  itself  may  be 
painfully  applied,  I  fear  lest  I  should,  by  any  means,  make  to 
bleed  afresh  that  wound  which  I  fain  would  help  to  heal.  In- 
deed, your  present  circumstances  call  rather  for  the  comj)assion 
than  for  the  advice  of  those  who  love  you ;  especially  as  they 
have  good  reason  to  believe  that  you  have  not  your  cordials  to 
seek  in  the  very  hour  when  they  are  needed.  By  a  long  and 
familiar  acquaintance  wuth  the  best  of  books,  you  have  been  pre- 
viously furnished  with  those  views  of  Divine  Providence,  and 
with  those  maxims  of  heavenly  wisdom,  from  wdiich,  through 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  good  man  derives  such  strong 
consolations  as  dehght  his  soul  in  the  midst  of  his  most  troub- 
led thoughts.  I  rejoice  exceedingly  in  the  extraordinary  sup- 
port with  which  you  have  been  favored  from  above  on  this 
mournful  occasion,  and  will  not  foil  to  pray  for  the  continuance 
of  these  Divine  influences.  And,  surely,  that  grace  which  en- 
abled our  dear  departed  friend  so  gloriously  to  triumi^h  over 
the  feelings  of  nature,  the  languors  of  disease,  and  the  assaults 
of  death,  can  and  will  support  her  surviving  partner,  till  he, 
like  her,  shall  be  called  to  enjoy  the  crown  for  which  he  fights, 
and  the  prize  for  which  he  riras.  I  also  rejoice  to  find,  from 
your  letters,  that  you  are  not  inattentive  to  the  many  circum- 
stances which  contribute  to  alleviate  the  afflictive  stroke,  and 
to  render  it  more  tolerable.  The  presence  and  assistance  of 
Miss  Pawson,  as  your  housekeeper,  is  a  most  happy  arrange- 
ment indeed  both  for  yourself  and  for  your  children.  She  will 
be  a  mother  to  them,  for  their  mother's  sake.  Instead  of  mur- 
•  muring  that  one  of  your  blessings  has  been  taken  away,  you,  I 
doubt  not,  will  rather  labor  to  be  thankful,  first,  that  you  were 
permitted  to  enjoy  that  one  for  so  long  a  time,  and,  secondly, 
that,  on  its  removal,  you  are  still  left  in  possession  of  so  many 
others ;  for  you  still  enjoy  the  comfort  of  kind  relatives,  the 
pleasures  of  paternal  love,  and  the  warm  esteem  and  attach- 
ment of  numerous  friends,  who,  though  they  can  not  supply  the 


206  •  THE   LIFE  OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

loss  of  her  who  is  £^ouv  to  Heaven,  Mill,  by  tlieir  sjnnpathy  and 
their  prayers,  help  you  to  bear  it.  You  still  enjoy,  above  all, 
the  means  of  grace,  an  interest  in  Christ,  and  the  hope  of  eter- 
nal life.  You  still  enjoy  God  ;  and,  though  nothing  could  have 
made  up  to  you  for  the  departure  of  the  Creator,  it  is  easy  for 
Ilim  to  make  up  to  you  for  the  removal  of  the  most  beloved 
creature.  And,  even  with  respect  to  that  departed  object  of 
your  best  earthly  aft'ections,  you  sorrow  not  as  do  others.  You 
have  not  only  hope,  but  assurance  in  her  death.  Y^'ou  know  she 
is  not  properly  gone,  but  rather  gone  before ;  removed,  but  not 
lost ;  for  dying  is  not  the  termination  of  existence,  but  only  the 
exchange  of  worlds.  You  know,  also,  that  the  certiiinty  of 
your  meeting  again  is  indubitable ;  that  the  time  of  that  meet- 
ing can  not  be  very  distant ;  that,  through  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  it  will  be  hai)py  as  well  as  speedy ;  and, 
finally,  that  it  will  be  eternal  as  well  as  joyful.  Here  you  were 
often  unavoidably  separated  from  each  other  during  consider- 
able periods ;  but  your  next  meeting  shall  be  your  final  one. 
After  that  meeting  (and  your  Lord  saith,  '  Behold,  I  come 
quickly'),  there  shall  l)e  no  parting  kiss,  nor  shall  you  ever  be 
required  to  say  agaui '  Farewell.'  But  I  must  stop.  I  have  in- 
sensibly enlarged  on  this  pleasingly-painful  subject  much  more 
than  I  intended.  You  feel  all  these  things,  I  am  persuaded, 
more  forcibly  than  I  can  state  them.  But  excuse  my  long  let- 
ter. I  have  not  time  now  to  make  it  shorter.  I  join  with  you 
in  wishing  that  Mr.  Lomas  may  find  his  mind  at  liberty  to  ac- 
cept the  office  of  book-steward  for  two  or  three  years.  In  that 
time  I  think  he  would  i)ut  our  concerns  into  a  proper  train,  and 
for  a  much  longer  period  than  that  I  should  not  desire  so  use- 
ful a  preacher  to  be  hindered  from  regular  itinerancy.  Wheth- 
er he  accept  the  office  or  not,  I  am  confident  that  he  is  riglit  in 
coming  t<;  us  fi)r  a  few  Aveeks  now.  Aided  by  the  result  of  his 
judicious  and  laithful  investigations,  I  trust  the  Book  Connnit- 
tee  will  be  able  to  pre])are  for  the  Conference  a  more  satisfac- 
tory report  of  its  concerns  ui  that  line  than  has  hitherto  been 
presented." 

To  Mr.  ]\Iarsden  my  father  says,  "  Lackingfon's  'Confes- 
sions' afford  to  me  satisfactory  evidence  of  a  real  alteration  in 
his  sentiments  and  opinions  on  religion.     As  to  the  conversion 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN  LONDON,  207 

of  his  heart,  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance,  the  sufficiency  of 
liis  contrition,  and  tlic  reality  of  his  return  to  Christ,  I  yet 
stand  in  doubt.  But  I  rejoice  tliat  he  is,  in  any  degree,  altered 
for  the  better.  I  fear  the  style  and  spirit  of  the  work  will  not 
do  much  honor  either  to  Methodism  or  to  Christianity.  He 
does  not  write  as  a  pardoned  or  penitent  prodigal  ought. 
What  think  you  of  our  steps  with  respect  to  the  missions  ? 
They  were  perhaps  bold,  but  certainly  necessary.  Yesterday 
we  received  the  linal  determination  of  the  Committee  of  Privy 
Council  respecting  the  persecuting  law  in  Jamaica.  Their 
lordships  will  disallow  it,  so  that  it,  of  course,  ceases  to  be  op- 
erative ;  but  they  have  accompanied  this  decision  with  an  inti- 
mation that  they  shall  recommend  some  other  measure  to  the 
Colonial  Legislature  in  order  to  prevent  abuses  of  the  Tolera- 
tion. What  that  other  measure  will  be  we  can  not  tell.  We 
have  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  on  this  business,  but  to  have 
succeeded  in  any  degree  is  more  than  an  adequate  recompense. 
Messrs.  Abraham  Booth,  Andrew  Fuller,  and  Robert  Hall,  on 
behalf  of  the  Baptists,  joined  us  in  our  applications.  The  oth- 
er Dissenters  stood  aloof.  We  have  pleasmg  accounts  from 
Messrs.  Mahy  and  Pontavice  in  France.  They  are  maldng  si- 
lent progress  in  some  country  parishes  of  Normandy;  but  con- 
cealment is  essential  to  their  safety  and  success,  so  that  nothmg 
must  be  published  that  would  tend  to  make  them  objects  of 
attention  to  the  present  execrable  government  of  that  coim- 
try." 

The  "  bold  but  certainly  necessary"  steps  in  reference  to  the 
conncctional  missions  adopted  at  this  time  require  some  ex- 
planation. My  father  had  very  easily  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  laity,  equally  with  the  clergy,  are  bound  and  entitled 
to  assist  in  the  management  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  the 
Church.  Up  to  this  period  a  contrary  principle  had  prevailed 
in  Methodism.  All  parties  to  the  constitutional  settlement  of 
1795-1797  had  contented  themselves  with  providmg  that  the 
accounts  kept  by  the  Conference  should  be  duly  reported  to 
the  people  xmder  its  charge.  All  local  finances,  indeed,  includ- 
ing those  of  chapels,  were  then,  as  now,  under  the  sole  control 
of  lay  officers ;  but  the  funds  collected  for  the  common  pur- 
poses of  the  connection  were  received  and  distributed  by  min- 
isters onlv. 


208  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

It  ■was  inipossihlo  tliat  such  a  slate  of  tilings  should  long 
continue;  and,  accordingly,  so  early  as  1799,  the  Conference 
introduced  the  lay  element.  But  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
shoAved  that  no  new  system  was  intended.  Of  their  own  pri- 
vate Benetit  Society,  founded  and  sui»])orted  by  their  own  per- 
sonal contributions,  and,  therefore,  legitimately  subject  to  their 
exclusive  management,  the  preachers  composing  the  Confer- 
ence elected  a  treasurer.  But  tliis  was  an  exceptional  appoint- 
ment, and  was  not  often,  if  ever,  repeated. 

Very  soon  after  a  body  of  the  laity  apj^car  to  have  interest- 
ed themselves  in  the  pecuniary  aifairs  of  the  connection.  A 
"  Preachers'  Friend  Society"  organized  itself  in  London  in  the 
year  1799.  Its  objects  were  the  "casual  relief"  of  the  minis- 
ters and  their  fiimilics  "  when  in  sickness  or  otherwise  distress- 
ed." Its  boimty  was  dispensed  by  a  committee  of  seven  per- 
sons resident  in  London,  of  which  committee  no  minister  was, 
or  could  be,  a  member.  "  Comitry  members"  might  be  pres- 
ent at  the  meetings.  Amiual  reports  were  to  be  })ublished  ; 
at  the  end  of  which,  cases  Avere  to  appear,  and  statements  of 
the  relief  granted,  concealing  the  names  of  the  a))plicants.  Tlie 
first  committee  included  the  names  of  Buhner,  Hamilton,  Mid- 
dleton,  and  Sundius ;  Holy,  Longridgc,  and  others  were  coun- 
try members;  iMarriott, Treasurer;  and  Butterworth,  Secretary. 
The  Conference  Avas  at  this  time  sorely  straitened  for  money ; 
but  I  confess  I  am  sur^jrised  that,  instead  of  sanctioning,  it  did 
not  simimarily  reject  the  scheme,  with  best  thanks  to  its 
promoters  for  their  good  intentions,  but  Avith  an  earnest  Avarn- 
ing  against  the  mischiefs  Avhich  it  threatened.  It  soon  perish- 
ed. A  committee  of  the  richer  laymen  of  the  body,  distribut- 
ing largesses  at  their  OAvn  discretion  to  the  ministers  of  the 
entire  connection,  Avas  not  an  institute  likely  to  acquire  the 
confidence  of  the  i)Coi)le,  or  to  preserve  the  stainless  incorrupt- 
ibility of  the  persons  it  Avas  designed  to  help.  No  intelligent 
Methodist  can  Avisli  the  ex])eriment  to  be  rej)eated.  Connuon 
lal)ors;  common  certainty  of  maintenance;  common  interchange 
of  friendly  oflices ;  common  sympathy  and  aid  in  trouble — thesy 
be  the  common  inlioritance  of  Methodist  ministers  to  the  end 
of  time ! 

Tlic  Conference  of  1801  was  the  first  to  give  substantial  and 
consistent  form  to  the  principle  of  lay  interference.     It  A\'as 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IX   LONDON.  209 

then  enacted  that  the  circuit  stewards  should  Imve  a  right  to 
be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  district,  and  to  advise  at  the 
settlement  of  all  financial  matters.  But,  so  unimportant  was 
this  regulation  considered,  that,  owing  to  the  mistake  of  the 
secretary,  no  mention  of  it  appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  year. 
It  is  to  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  Magazine  for  December. 

The  year  1S03  saw  another  change  made  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Mr.  Butterworth  and  Mr,  Allan,  both  active  and  intelli- 
gent Wesleyans,  the  latter  a  local  preacher  and  a  lawyer,  had 
directed  their  serious  attention  to  the  relations  of  the  connec- 
tion to  the  legislative  and  administrative  acts  of  the  civil  pow- 
er, and  it  was  chiefly  at  their  instance  that,  in  the  year  last 
named,  the  Conference  appointed  xi  committee  to  "  guard  our 
religious  jirivileges  in  these  perilous  times,"  the  majority  of 
which  committee,  as  it  happened,  were  lapnen.  The  idea  of 
representation ,  too,  as  being,  in  some  cases,  and  in  well-regu- 
lated modes,  expedient,  was  recognized,  by  placing  upon  this 
committee  "  the  general  steward  of  the  London  Circuit  for  the 
time  being."  With  the  single  exception  which  occurred  in 
1799,  thi ;  Avas  the  first  time  that  laymen  were  permitted  to 
engage  in  affairs  relating  to  tlie  whole  connection ;  and  even 
these  ailairs  were  not  properly  or  necessarily  pecuniary.* 

This  was  the  germ  of  our  present  financial  economy,  though 
those  who  planted  it  little  thought  hoAV  high  it  would  grow. 
It  was  not  possible,  however,  that  Jabcz  Bunting's  clear  com- 
prehension of  the  present  and  foresight  of  the  future  should 
fail  to  see  in  it  the  commencement  of  a  new  order  of  things 
and  the  foundation  of  a  new  policy.  But  neither  did  he  con- 
jecture that  this  policy  was  to  be,  distinctively  and  emphatical- 
ly, his  o\m. 

When  he  became  a  minister  in  London,  the  whole  missionary 
operations  of  the  body  had  long  been  confided  by  the  Confer- 
ence exclusively  to  the  charge  and  direction  of  Dr.  Coke.    That 

*  Of  course,  I  am  not  referring  to  practices  which  prevailed  during  the 
earliest  history  of  the  body,  and  which  at  this  time  had  become  obsolete.  I 
am  aware  that  laymen  interfered  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  1795-1797, 
but  there  was  no  constitutional  warrant  for  their  doing  so.  An  acute  in- 
vestigator may  also  find  in  the  first  article  of  the  Plan  of  Pacification  some 
faint  traces  of  the  idea  of  representation,  but  not  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
term  is  used  in  the  text,  or  in  which  the  connection  has  subsequently  adopt- 
ed it. 


210  THE   LIFK   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

zealous  and  distin^uislied  elerg}'iiian  liatl  exercised  f:^ront  con- 
trol over  them  before  the  death  of  Wesley,  and,  because  his 
will  and  wisdom  had  done  so  much  to  create  this  department 
of  the  work,  and  his  ])ersonal  contributions  and  exertions  had 
done  nearly  every  thini^  to  sustain  it,  his  superintendence  of 
it  had  been  contuuied  and  confirmed,  lie  had  given  or  beg- 
ged all  the  money,  and  had  been  left  to  expend  it  as  he  chose. 
In  1794  lie  had  rendered  an  account  of  his  stewardship,  which 
showed  that,  up  to  that  period,  he  had  personally  subscribed 
more  than  nine  hundred  j)ounds,  and  had  lent  to  mission  chap- 
els a  sum  much  larger.  But,  between  1794  and  1803,  no  state- 
ment whatever  had  been  published ;  so  that,  although  every 
body  knew  that  he  was  a  large  creditor  upon  the  fund,  none 
but  lumsclf  could  have  proved  that  he  was  not  a  defaulting 
debtor.  He  Avas  absent  from  England  during  nearly  all  the 
period  which  elapsed  between  the  Conference  of  1 803  and  that 
of  1804,  and,  so  far  as  the  missions  were  concerned,  his  some- 
what complicated  money  aftlurs  Avere  transacted  by  the  Book- 
steward,  who,  inasmuch  as  he  Avas  a  minister,  and  had  long 
been  more  familiar  with  the  duties  of  itinerancy  than  A\ith  the 
mysteries  of  trade,  can  not  be  severely  blamed  that  his  various 
accounts,  confused  separately,  were  confused  together,  and  lay 
in  a  state  of  almost  unintelligible  entanglement.  jNIr.  Lonias, 
we  have  seen,  was  called  to  the  rescue  of  the  Book-room;  but, 
until  he  should  arrive,  my  father  made  a  vigorous  attempt  to  re- 
duce things  into  order.  Let  those  be  thankful  who  have  never 
encountered  such  a  task.  What  an  acreage  of  ]')ai)cr ;  and  liow 
])rim  and  projicr  did  the  figures  stand,  in  long  successive  files, 
like  soldiers  waiting  for  parade!  But  Avho  should  ascertain 
their  powers,  conunand  their  evolutions,  and  lead  them  to 
march  and  action  V 

And  Avhat  was  to  be  done  for  the  missions?  C^)ke  Avas 
preaching  through  America,  and  his  dei)uty  had  taken  to  his 
ijcd.  This,  at  all  CA'cnts,  Avas  a  clear  case  for  the  farther  ajij)!!- 
cation  of  the  princii)le  adopted  at  the  preceding  Conference; 
and,  accoi-dingly,  the  London  ])reachers  formed  a  committee 
of  "finance  and  advice,"  com])0sed  of  all  the  London  ministers, 
and  of  those  same  laymen  Avhoni  the  Conference  liad  honored 
Avith  its  confidence  in  reference  to  "  our  religious  privileges." 
This  step  Avas  cautiously  taken.     Dr.  Coke's  authorized  super- 


Ills    EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  211 

intendencc  was  left  undisturbed;  but  he  was  not  in  England 
to  do  his  Avork.  Money  must  be  had;  hxymen  must  lind  it: 
surely  it  was  for  them  to  say  how  it  should  be  found,  and  to 
advise,  Avhen  found,  how  it  should  be  laid  out ;  and  those  lay- 
men were  selected  to  Avhom  the  Conference  itself  liad  already 
committed  an  important  trust.  This  caution  extended  to  the 
minuter  details  of  the  arrangement,  Marriott  and  Butterworth, 
the  Treasurer  and  Secretary  respectively  of  "the  Preachers' 
Friend  Society,"  were  appointed  to  similar  offices  in  connection 
with  the  new  committee. 

The  measures  thus  taken  were  duly  announced  by  circular 
to  the  several  superintendents  throughout  the  connection,  and 
my  ftither's  last-quoted  letter  to  Mr.  Marsden  was  one  of  many 
modes  in  which  he  endeavored  to  sound  the  opinions  of  his 
brethren  whether  a  plan  suggested  by  a  special  exigency  could 
be  made  part  of  a  permanent  system.  Mr.  Marsden's  reply  has 
not  come  into  my  possession.  Dr.  Coke  soon  came  back,  and 
I  fear  he  was  grieved  at  Avhat  had  j^assed  during  his  absence. 
At  the  Conference  of  1 804,  however,  his  powers  were  placed 
under  the  check  of  a  standing  committee  of  "  finance  and  ad- 
vice," of  which  he  was  appointed  president ;  he  was  favored 
with  the  assistance  of  a  treasurer  and  of  a  secretary,  both  minis- 
ters ;  and  annual  reports  were  ordered  to  be  published.  These 
were  innovations  enough  at  a  time.  No  laymen  were  appoint- 
ed officers,  or  even  members  of  the  committee ;  and  several 
years  elapsed  before  the  principle  of  lay  concern  m  the  man- 
agement of  any  of  our  connectional  aftairs  was  farther  recog- 
nized. Shortly  after  the  Conference  the  new  coimnittee  is- 
sued a  letter  containing  the  following  paragraph :  "  You  Avill 
perceive,  from  the  minutes  of  the  last  Conference,  that  a  com- 
mittee of  finance  and  advice  has  been  appointed  to  assist  the 
general  superintendent  in  the  management  of  the  missions. 
The  former  committee  has  been  dissolved.  The  Conference 
was  fully  satisfied  of  the  integrity,  piety,  and  disinterestedness 
of  the  whole  conduct  of  the  former  committee,  and  return  them 
their  thanks  ;  but  tliey  choose  to  manage  the  missions  in  future 
only  by  their  superintendent,  and  a  committee  chosen  out  of 
their  own  body."  So  ended  my  father's  first  essay  at  develop- 
ing the  constitution  of  Methodism.  It  is  doubtful  whether  ten 
laymen  in  the  body  cared  whether  it  did  or  did  not  succeed. 


212  TIIK   LIFE  OF  JABKZ   BUNTING. 

But  some  of  the  veterans  of  the  Conference  were  not  a  little 
displeased  at  the  young  man's  rashness,  and  were  half  afraid 
that,  in  the  person  of  the  rising  preacher  and  administrator,  a 
"  Killuunitt''"  had  crept  into  the  coimectit>n. 

Mr.  Entwisle  writes  him  in  May,  1804,  '•'  I  saw at . 

He  introduced  the  business  of  the  Book-room ;  but,  as  com- 
pany was  present,  I  could  say  little :  however,  he  expressed 
his  decided  opposition  to ,  and  observed  that  our  Book- 
steward  should  be  a  compassionate  brother,  that  could  feel  for 
liis  brethren,  etc.  I  said  nothmg  in  reply,  judging  it  imi)roper 
before  the  ladies.  But  I  can  not  see  why  an  agent  of  the  Con- 
ference in  book  aftairs  should  be  compassionate ;  I  think  he 
ought  to  be  accurate  and  sternly  just." 

In  answer  to  an  invitation  to  travel  in  the  Iluddcrsfield  Cir- 
cuit after  the  ensuing  Conference,  my  father  writer :  ''  If  I 
were  at  liberty  to  choose  my  own  circuit,  I  should,  perhaps,  at 
my  tunc  of  life,  greatly  prefer  Iludderstield  to  London ;  for, 
though  we  certainly  have  more  external  comfort  la-re  than  in 
most  other  places,  I  do  not  consider  this  situation  to  be,  on  the 
whole,  desirable  or  advantageous  to  a  young  man.  We  have 
peri)etually  so  much  public  business  upon  our  hands,  of  a  kind 
which  does  not  occur  in  country  circuits,  that  there  is  little  or 
no  time  left  for  the  purposes  of  study,  which,  to  one  in  my  cir- 
cumstances, is  a  serious  inconvenience.  But  I  have  various 
reasons  to  believe  that  our  excellent  and  valuable  friends  in 
the  metropolis  generally  expect  and  wish  me  to  stay  with  them 
another  year,  and  that  they  intend,  at  their  next  Quarte-rly 
meeting,  to  propose  a  petition  to  Conference  with  that  view : 
I  shall,  in  such  a  case,  feel  it  my  duty  to  be,  as  on  every  former 
occasion,  Avholly  ])assive,  and  to  sid^mit  the  decision  of  the  busi- 
ness entirely  to  (jod  and  to  my  brethren." 

Mr.  Kntwisic  writes  about  this  ])eri<)d,  with  an  account  of 
the  Macclesiield  District  meeting:  "At  5  next  mornhig,  ^Fr. 
West*  gave  us  a  plain,  useful  sermon  on  Isaiah,  xxxiv.,  10.  lie 
is  quite  an  original ;  says  smart  and  striking  things  in  a  plain 
way,  and  is  lively  and  animated.  Our  business  Avas  conduct ed 
in  the  usual  way.  In  discussing  the  inquiry,  'Is  there  any  ob- 
jection,' etc.,  we  considered  it  as  it  respects  moral  conduct, 
doctrines,  discipline,  and  abilities,  taking  each  particular  sepa- 
rately." 

♦  Fallicr  of  tlic  President  of  tlie  Conference  in  1858. 


HIS    EARLY   MINISTRY   IX   LONDON.  213 

The  next  extract  introduces  my  father  into  a  wider  and 
more  influential  spliere  of  action.  He  writes  to  my  mother, 
then  at  Margate,  under  date  of  July  2d,  1804  :  "This  mornmg 
I  preached,  at  5,  on  '  Being  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit.'  At 
8  o'clock  I  went  to  Mr.  Taylor's,  Hatton  Garden,  to  attend  the 
committee  for  the  Review,  and,  strange  to  tell,  on  the  motion 
of  Mr.  Burder,  was  called  to  the  chair ;  so  I  assumed,  as  Avell 
as  I  could,  the  air  and  attitude  of  a  man  of  consequence,  and 
got  through  the  duties  of  my  office,  in  my  own  opinion  at 
least,  very  respectably.  The  gentlemen  present  stared  with 
admiration  when  I  told  them  that  I  had  preached  at  5  o'clock. 
Calling  at  Guildhall  on  my  way  home,  I  stepped  for  a  while 
into  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  and  was  amused  with  the 
pparrings  of  Garrow  and  Erskine :  I  then  found  a  common  hall 
of  the  city  assembled  to  choose  two  new  sheriffs.  Several  gen- 
tlemen were  put  in  nomination,  among  whom  M'as  our  friend, 
Mr.  Marriott.*  Fortunately  for  his  purse,  the  majority  of  votes 
was  in  favor  of  two  other  persons." 

The  Review  alluded  to  in  the  precedmg  paragraph,  origi- 
nally intended  to  be  called  "  The  BibUothecal  Review,"  was 
subsequently  established  as  "  The  Eclectic."  Mr.  Butterworth 
first  brought  the  subject  before  my  father's  attention  by  intro- 
ducing to  him  the  late  Mr.  Apsley  Pellatt,  with  the  injmiction 
that,  "  for  many  reasons,  the  business  must  remain  a  profoimd 
secret."  Of  the  gentlemen  invited  to  attend  the  meeting  for 
its  establishment,  two  only,  Jabez  Bunting  and  the  late  Rev. 
Thomas  Roberts,  were  AYesleyan  ministers ;  eight  of  the  twen- 
ty-nine laymen  summoned  were  connected  ^nth  the  Methodist 
society ;  Josiah  Pratt  is  the  only  clcrgpnan  whose  name  ai> 
pears  on  the  list ;  and  the  venerable  Dr.  Steinkopff  is  the  only 
survivor ;  Greatheed,  the  friend  of  Cow|3er,  was  the  chairman 
of  the  committee.  The  first  trustees  were  Mr.  Burder,  the  late 
Rev.  George  Collison,  of  Hackney,  William  Alers,  Apsley  Pel- 
latt, and  Jabez  Bunting.f      The  agreement  constituting  the 

*  One  of  John  Wesley's  executors,  and  the  son  of  the  b.akcr  -nho  first 
took  Mather  to  "the  Fonndery." 

+  A  circular,  issued  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  Review,  con- 
tains a  strong  recommendation  of  it,  signed  by  Jerram,  of  Chobham,  and  by 
Basil  Woodd,  distinguished  leaders  of  the  Evangelical  party  in  tlie  Church ; 
by  Fawcett,  Hughes,  and  Dr.  Kyland,  among  the  Baptists ;  by  Simpson,  Pye 


214  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTIXG. 

trust  i^rovidod  that  tlio  ])roiits,  if  any,  sliould  bo  paid  to  tlic 
Britisli  and  Foreign  Jiible  ►Society.  It  wass  farther  agreed  that 
the  intended  Review  should  "be  conducted  upon  the  principles 
of  the  doctrinal  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,"  farther 
defined  as  "  the  doctrines  t»f  the  Trinity  in  Unity  ;  the  vicarious 
Atonement  of  C'lirist ;  Kegeneration  by  tlie  Holy  Spirit ;  Justi- 
iication  by  Grace,  through  Faith ;  Obligation  of  obedience  to 
the  Moral  Law ;  Existence  of  the  soul  separate  from  the  body ; 
The  Kesurrection  of  the  Dead;  the  Everlasting  happiness  of 
the  l)eliever,  and  Everlasting  punishment  of  the  imj)enitent." 
It  was  stijjulatcd,  also,  that  upon  the  committee  there  should  lie 
two  members  of  the  Established  Church,  two  Independents,  one 
Baptist,  and  one  Wesleyan  Methodist.  My  father's  talent  for 
the  details  of  business — how  acquired  I  am  at  a  loss  to  say — 
was  put  hito  requisition,  and  calculations  of  expenditure  and 
of  probable  income  and  profit,  prepared  ^^  ith  nuich  care,  are 
found  among  his  papers. 

I  infer,  from  his  active  and  prominent  conncctioii  with  this 
undertaking,  that,  though  he  was  a  stranger  in  the  mctro|)olis, 
and  a  very  young  man,  he  already  commanded  great  resjject 
and  influence,  and  that  many  without  liis  own  pale  had  learned 
to  value  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  his  mastery  over 
delicate  and  diflicult  subjects.  Tlie  wisest  representatives  of 
metropolitan  Xonconformity,  together  with  a  section  of  the 
Evangelical  party  in  the  Church  of  England,  miited,  for  the  first 
time,  Avith  the  Wesleyans,  to  defend  and  to  promote  religion 
upon  the  basis  of  a  common  creed.  The  event  was  novel  in  the 
history  of  Methodism,  from  which  its  distinctive  theology,  and, 
jx'Hiaps,  .also  its  (juick  and  uncx})ected  spread,  had  repelled 
Christians  of  other  communions;  some  from  a  Avholesome  fear 
of  heresy,  and  some  from  a  pardonable  fear  of  rivalship.  The 
young  Methodist  preacher,  Avho  was  thus  brought  into  close 
union  with  strange  but  friendly  brethren,  "well  sustained  the 
ch.aracter  of  tlu;  body  to  which  he  belonged.  I  refer  not  so 
much  to  his  general  abilities  or  to  the  suavity  of  his  manners, 
as  to  the  strong  Christian  sense  with  wliich  liis  mind  always 
seized,  as  in  :i  moment,  upon  the  essential  doctrines  taught  in 
Holy  Scripture;  ])utting  .aside  for  their  sake,  as  i\\v,  season  or 

Smith,  and  Dr.  Williams,  Conprcgational  ministers ;  by  Nicol  .ijid  Waiif,'!!, 
of  the  Presbyterians ;  and  by  Benson,  Clarke,  and  Jenkins,  Metliudists. 


niS   PJAKLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  215 

the  purpose  miglit  require,  other  not  unimportant  trutlis,  wliicli 
many  good  men  did  not  see  in  the  light  in  which  lie  saw  them, 
or  could  not  see  at  all. 

The  undertaking,  it  is  well  knoAvn,  did  not  succeed.  The 
services  of  some  of  the  best  men  of  the  thne  Avere  enlisted  ;  but 
it  Avas  A'ery  hard,  in  those  days,  for  })ious  Calvinists  to  believe 
that  any  Avho  denied  the  Decrees,  in  their  Genevan  sense,  knelt 
humbly  as  themselves  at  the  sovereign  Savior's  feet  for  all  spir- 
itual influence  and  i)0wcr.  The  KevicAV  ceased  to  be  catholic 
AAdien  it  impugned  the  principles  of  evangelical  Arminianism, 
and  that  event  soon  happened.  Other  causes  of  dissension 
quickly  folloAved.  The  character  of  the  age  Avas  altogether  un- 
favorable to  schemes  of  healthy  and  generous  compromise.  I 
have  hinted  at  the  tem})tation  to  jealousy  Avhich  Methodism 
presented  to  stricter  Nonconformists.  But  there  Avas  a  still 
more  serious  difHculty.  The  frozen  Establishment  had  begun 
to  thaAA^,  and,  Avaking  and  Avarming  into  conscious  life,  had 
stretched  its  limbs,  had  begun  to  look  about  it,  and,  discovering 
its  poAvers,  had  displayed  them  in  the  sight  of  friend  and  foe. 
"  The  common  people"  always  "  heard"  it  "  gladly ;"  and  its 
parochial  system  gaA^e  it  a  quick,  firm,  and  smiultaneous  grasp 
upon  the  entire  country.  No  Avonder,  then,  that  those  Avho 
thought  they  discerned  in  all  state  churches  a  tendency  to  evil 
rather  than  to  good,  Avere  startled  Avhen  they  saAv  the  Church 
of  England  in  doAvnright  earnest,  and  Avould  not  feign  friendship 
Avhen  they  felt  nothhig  but  suspicion  and  dread.  So  it  came  to 
pass  that,  Avhen  this  "  strong  man"  became  a  rejoicing  competi- 
tor in  the  race  for  usefulness,  and  Methodism,  running  all  the 
faster,  yet  breathed  out  a  Avelcome,  bade  him  play  iliirl}-,  and 
wished  him  quickly  at  the  goal,  the  old  Dissent  stopped  and 
questioned,  sa}'ing  noAV  that  the  strange  racer  carried  too  much 
weight,  and  noAV  that  he  had  undue  advantage ;  all  Avliich  little 
heeding,  he  Avent  on  his  Avay,  and,  as  many  think,  got  a  full  cen- 
tury's start  of  those  Avho  tried  to  hinder  him.     But  may  all  Avin ! 

John  Foster  Avas  one  of  the  first  to  foretell  that  the  KevicAV 
Avould  fail  to  preserve  its  distinctive  feature  of  catholicity. 
"What  a  stupid  thing  it  Avas,"  he  says  to  the  editor  in  1808, 
"  to  begin  a  thmg  on  such  a  plan !"  But  Foster  did  much  to 
create  the  difficulties  Avhich  he  thought  the  founders  ought  to 
have  foreseen.     Had  his  influence  and  talents  been  exerted  in 


210  TIIE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   UUNTING. 

favor  of  the  scheme,  there  can  be  Utile  «hml)l  tliat  it  •would 
have  answered.     The  truth  is,  that  the  men  ^vhose  fancied  fully 
he  condemned  were,  in  this  instance,  as  wise  as  himself,  and  a 
little  more  amiable.     It  is  often  right  to  make  experiments, 
tliough  little  hope  of  their  success  may  be  indulged ;  and  it  is 
not  for  those  who  frustrate  that  success  to  comi)lain  of  the  ef- 
fort.    Foster  has  wittily  said  that  "  the  Methodists  are  the  Chi- 
nese of  Christianity."     It  is  certain  he  was  one  of  its  Tartars. 
From  this  failure  my  father  learned  a  lesson  which  he  never 
forgot.     In  subsequent  life  he  always  very  cautiously  weighed, 
though  he  did  not  always  refuse  to  join  in,  projects  for  which 
some  one  of  the  Churches  of  the  faithful  was  not  distinctly  re- 
sponsible, and  which  it  did  not  pursue  by  its  own  denomina- 
tional methods.     He  dreaded  lest  what  were  intended  as  man- 
ifestations of  union  should  prove  occasions  of  discord,  and  he 
thought  that  the  parts  separately  would  accomplish  more  than 
could  the  whole  combined.     There  were  cases,  however,  of 
united  action  not  open  to  any  doubt,  and  the  opportunities  thus 
aftbrded  he  eagerly  embraced.     The  Bible  Society  did,  cheaply 
and  elfectively,  the  work  of  all  the  churches.     City  missions, 
too,  though  within  the  range  of  his  objection,  were  practically 
exce])ted  from  it.     "Within  the  same  exception  came  also  cer- 
tain pressing  claims  for  the  promotion  of  the  Gospel  abroad, 
■which  no  denominational  society  was  i)repared  to  meet.     The 
Evangelical  Alliance,  as   he   always   strenuously   maintained, 
served  its  great  and  final  ]iuri)Oseby  the  constant  exhibition  to 
the  Avorld  of  the  substantial  unity  of  the  Church.     He  listened 
with  affectionate  deference  to  his  illustrious  friend,  Thomas 
Chalmers,  when  he  sununoned  that  body  to  some  aggressive 
action ;   but  the  call   awakened  fear  rather   than   sympathy. 
Each  case,  such  as  that  of  the  Madiai,  in  which  action  was 
taken,  was  considered  by  my  father  upon  its  own  abstract  and 
])eculiar  merits.     He  would,  have  been  deeply  grieved  if  the 
inlluence,  not  to  say  the  existence,  of  the  Alliance  had  hcon  en- 
dangered by  any  attemjjt  to  compass  objects  foreign  to  its  orig- 
inal design.     Nor  did  he  ever  see  why  churches  should  form 
confederations  in  order  to  effect  any  ]>uri)Osc  which  Christians 
formed  into  churches  were  already  liiliilling,  if  with  some  in- 
centives from  sectarian  zeal,  yet  chiefly  out  of  love  to  their 
common  Savior  and  Head. 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  217 

My  father  again  addresses  Mr.  Marsden:  "Tlie  long-talked 
of  Jamaica  business  has  ended  less  favorably  than  we  hoped  it 
would.  Tlie  old  law  is,  indeed,  fully  re})ealed  by  the  refusal 
of  his  majesty's  assent  to  it.  But  the  tidings  of  that  refusal, 
when  sent  to  the  Colonial  Legislature,  were  accompanied  with 
the  sketch  of  a  new  act  on  the  same  subject,  which  the  Lords' 
Committee  of  Privy  Coi;ncil  for  Trade  and  Plantations  recom- 
mended to  their  adoption,  and  which,  if  carried  into  eifect,will 
be  still  more  injurious  to  Toleration  than  that  which  was  before 
proposed.  As  this  sketch  was  not  officially  made  known  to  us, 
nothing  can  be  done  in  this  stage  of  the  business ;  but  if  it  be 
passed  into  a  law,  our  opposition  may  then  be  renewed,  and 
perhaps  with  more  probability  of  success,  in  consequence  of 
the  recent  change  of  administration.*  Under  such  threatening 
circumstances,  it  is  our  comfort  to  be  assured  that  the  Lord 
reigneth ;  and  that  when,  by  His  overruling  Providence,  He 
has  strangely  made  the  wrath  and  malice  of  man  to  serve  His 
righteous  purposes  and  to  promote  His  glory,  the  remainder 
of  that  wrath  He  will  efiectually  restrain.  Our  district  met 
last  week  but  one.  Mr.  Taylor  is  chosen  by  a  large  majority 
to  represent  the  district  in  the  Stationing  Committee ;  but  the 
brethren  agreed  to  suggest  to  that  committee  the  j^ropriety  of 
admitting  Mr.  Benson  also,  in  Dr.  Coke's  absence,  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  foreign  missionaries,  several  of  whom  are 
come  home,  and  will  want  circuits.  Mr.  Taylor  stays  a  second 
year,  of  course,  and  ex  officio.  Messrs.  Rutherford  and  Rhodes 
arc  expected  to  remove.  The  Quarterly  meeting  has  detciin- 
ined  to  petition  for  ]\Ir.  Myles,  Mr.  Ent^wisle,  and  myseli",  as  mar- 
ried preachers,  and  to  ask  for  two  single  men.  This  Avill  com- 
l^lete  their  iisual  number  of  six  preachers.  Of  Mr.  Benson's 
stay  as  editor,  etc.,  they  will  be  very  glad,  but  they  are  re- 
solved (from  a  wish,  they  say,  to  make  no  precedents  danger- 
ous to  itinerancy)  to  consider  him,  and  Mr.  Loraas  also,  should 
he  be  united  with  Mr.  Whitefield  in  the  Book-room,  as  the  serv- 
ants of  the  Conference  only,  not  of  the  circuit.  They  therefore 
refuse  to  grant  Mr.  B.  any  longer  the  allowances  of  a  preacher, 
or  to  reckon  him  one  of  their  six  ;  but,  m  consideration  of  the 
Sunday  services  of  the  editor,  they  will  undertake  to  pay  two 

*  Mr.  Pitt  had  just  resumed  power. 
•  Vol.  I.— K 


218  TIIE   LIFE  OF  .TAHKZ   nrNTIXG. 

or  three  additional  wives.*  I  lit  nr  Mr.  .Ins,  Ikadford  me^ms  to 
come  lii'iv.  In  that  ease,  he  will  occuity  tlie  Siiitaltields  hou.se, 
and  I  must  remove.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  go  or  stay,  as 
Providence  and  the  Conference  (which  to  me  is  the  organ  of 
Providence)  may  appoint.  WIjo  knows  but  I  may  be  fortu- 
nate enough  to  have  you  for  my  bishop,  in  some  quiet  York- 
shire circuit  V" 

Writing  to  a  friend,  my  father  says :  "  You  have  been,  I  find, 
in  the  wans  of  late.     My  private  opinion  certainly  is,  that  if 

Mr. could  quietly  and  comfortably  have  remained  with 

you,  it  would  liave  l)cen  highly  desirable.  As  there  is  so  seri- 
ous and  resi)e(table  an  ()p])osition,  however,  if  I  were  he,  I 
would  absolutely,  and  at  once,  ri'sign  all  claims  of  the  kind. 
Indeed,  I  believe  a  great  majority  of  the  Conference  will  de- 
cidedly oppose  all  triennial  a])pointments.  In  some  cases  I 
think  they  would  do  good;  in  others  they  would  do  harm; 
and  I  begin  to  l)e  of  ojiinion  that,  as  the  Conference  can  not 
distinguish  between  the  Ibrmer  and  the  latter  cases  without 
subjecting  themselves  to  the  clamor  which  any  imputation  of 
partiality  would  immediately  e.\cite,  nor  without  giving  fresh 
occasion  for  strifes  and  jealousies  among  both  preacliers  and 
jjcople,  they  had  better  revive  and  enforce  their  old  rule.  I 
grant  that,  in  some  instances,  this  will  be  hard;  but  such  is 
the  present  state  of  the  world  and  of  human  nature,  that  the 
iimocent  must  often  suffer  for  the  guilty,  and  the  wishes  of  the 
good  mu.st  be  thwarteil  in  order  to  prevent  the  working  of 
corruption  in  the  Itad." 

I  add  here  that  my  father's  experience  soon  taught  him  the 
advantage,  as  a  rule,  of  triennial  appointments;  but  he  always 
approved  and  advocated  the  check  which  the  Methodi.st  Con- 
stitution imposes  tipon  the  practice,  l)y  re(|uiring,  in  all  ordi- 
narv  cases,  the  hearty  concurrence  of  the  (Quarterly  meeting. 
An  itinerancy  like  ours  absolutely  rctjuires  that,  the  wishes  of 
the  peoj>le  being  first  fully  st:ite<l  .and  considered,  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  ministers  should  rest  with  the  C'onference.  Hut 
the  system,  fairly  worke<l  and  curried  out,  gu.ards  itself  ag.ainst 
the  countless  evils  of  intruding  a  minister  whom  events  ])rovc 
to  be  unfit  for  the  sphere  .alloltcl  to  him.  Al  the  end  of  one 
year  all  mistakes  may  easily  be  rectified  ;  and  tin-re  is  a  change, 
•  The  nllowoncc*  made  to  wives  of  mini«tcr»  in  other  circuits. 


HIS   EAKLY   MINISTRY   IX   LONDON.  210 

.iH  of  course,  at  the  end  of  two  years,  unless  there  are  clear  in- 
ilications  of  a  wish  to  tlic  contrary.  This  is  one  of  the  many 
advantages  of  a  pastorate  whidi  regularly  varies,  as  compared 
with  one  whose  (.-hanges  dc])cn(l  upon  the  accidt-nts  of  events 
or  of  o])inion.  To  tliose  wlio  discern  its  disadvantages,  it  is 
enough  now  to  say  that  the  arrangement  has  worked  well  for 
more  than  a  century,  and  that  it  is  not  disparaged  by  the  fact 
tliat  it  draws  largely  on  the  self-denial  of  the  clergy.  Until 
uiy  f  ithcr  had  traveled  sixteen  years,  he  never  accepted  an  in- 
vitation for  a  thinl  year.  This  course  of  action  I  attribute 
]>artly  to  his  desire  to  examine  closely  the  practical  working 
of  Methodism  in  various  circumstances,  and  partly  to  his  per- 
ce))tion  that  a  man  in  his  j)eculiar  position  was  keenly  watched, 
and,  in  some  cases,  not  without  jealousy. 

He  had  now  completed  his  lirst  year's  residence  in  London. 
Occasional  references  have  appeared  in  his  letters  to  the  mul- 
tiplicity and  laboriousness  of  the  ordinary  work  of  the  circuit. 
Dr.  George  Smith,  in  the  seeond  volume  of  his  History  of  Meth- 
odism,* has  ])rinted  the  Plan  for  the  last  quarter  of  1S03,  from 
which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  circuit  extended  "from  Twick- 
enham to  Tilbury,  about  thirty-eight  miles,  and  from  Mitcham 
to  Barnet,  nearly  twenty  miles."  The  names  of  thirty-one 
chapels  and  preaching-places  appear  on  this  Plan.  In  these 
my  father  preached  two  lumdred  and  sixty-three  times;  but 
his  usual  course  Mas  interrujjted  l)y  his  wedding  trip,  and  was 
shortened  by  the  holding  of  the  Conference  in  London  in  1804. 
During  the  year  he  kept  every  appointment  in  his  circuit  ex- 
cept on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage,  and  on  one  Sabbath  spent 
at  Margate. 

To  his  ordinary  duties  were  added  various  public  conccnis. 
I  have  spoken  of  his  labors  at  the  Book-room  and  for  the  mis- 
sions; and  his  letters  refer  to  long  transcriptions  from  Magee 
for  the  use  of  the  Magazine,  and  to  other  services  rendered  to 
its  editor.  I  have  no  evidence  that  he  was  ]>resent  at  the 
meeting  at  Avhich  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  was 
formed,  but  he  took  some  part  in  its  earUer  proceedings.  Jo- 
seph Lancaster's  plans  for  the  education  of  the  people  also  en- 
gaged his  close  attention,  and  in  the  then  state  of  the  question, 
especially  as  it  aftected  his  ovn\  denomination,  commanded  his 
♦  London  :  Longman  and  Co.     1858. 


220         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUKTING. 

^varnl  approval.  They  were  the  occasion  of  the  only  move- 
incut,  on  a  large  scale,  and  in  a  right  direction,  in  Avhich  Non- 
conformists conld  at  that  time  partici])ate. 

The  th-st  Quarterly  meeting  of  the  local  preachers  held  dur- 
ing this  year,  gave  rise  to  a  decisive  declaration  of  my  father's 
strong  conviction  as  to  the  necessity  of  an  order  of  men  sepa- 
rated exclusively  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  that  his 
brethren,  the  itinerant  preachers,  and  himself,  constituted  such 
an  order.  It  had  been  the  custom,  I  do  not  know  how  long, 
to  call  over  the  names  of  the  ithierant  and  local  preachers  in 
succession,  and  to  inquire  into  each  man's  character,  orthodoxy, 
and  general  ability.  When  my  father's  name  was  mentioned, 
he  rose  and  protested,  insisting  that  such  an  investigation  as 
to  himself  and  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  formed  no  ])roper 
part  of  the  functions  of  that  meeting.  "  When  I  am  tried,"  he 
said,  "  I  will  be  tried  by  my  peers ;"  and  he  argued  that  an  in- 
quiry which  might  issue  in  a  trial,  or,  ])ossibly,  in  immediate 
degradation,  ought  also  to  be  conducted  by  his  peers.  The 
practice  was  never  resumed  m  his  presence,  and  I  believe  it  has 
fallen  into  entire  desuetude. 

At  the  Conference  held  in  1804,  Henry  Moore  was  appointed 
president,  and  Dr.  Coke,  who  had  returned  from  America,  secre- 
tary. 

Henry  Moore,  the  friend  and  biographer  of  Wesley,  was 
born  near  Dublin  in  1751.  He  acquired  hi  early  life  the  habits 
of  a  scholar;  but  his  education,  which  it  Avas  intended  to  com- 
plete at  the  Dublin  University,  was  interrupted  by  the  death 
of  his  father.  He  states,  when  telling  the  story  of  his  youth, 
that  he  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  carver,  whom  he  also  calls 
an  artist.  He  went  to  reside  in  London,  and  became  very  gay : 
"Tlie  I*arks,  Vauxhall,  lianelagh,  and  especially  the  theatres, 
of  which  I  was  a  ]»assi(»nate  admirer,  (|uitc  intoxicated  me,  so 
that  the  name  of  Garrick  in  a  i)lay-bill  would  make  my  heart 
vibrate  with  delightful  anticipations."  He  returned  to  Dub- 
Hn:  "The  sight  of  the  University  had  a  ])ainful  effect  upon 
me;  I  sometimes  attended  the  College  C]iai)el,  and  often  took 
a  melancholy  walk  in  its  beautiful  park."  7\gain  he  went  to 
London,  and  occasionally  attended  at  Methodist  Chajjcls.  He 
heard  Charles  Wesley  preach ;  "  but  his  vehement  and,  what 
my  folly  pronounced,  his  headlong  elocution,  did  not  suit  that 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  221 

cold  attention  Avhicli  was  all  I  could  then  give  to  the  ministry 
of  any  man,  although,  with  respect  to  him,  every  sentence 
seemed  an  aphorism."  He  also  frequented  the  Lock  Chapel, 
where  he  heard  De  Coetlogon  and  Madan.  The  word  he 
heard  seriously  impressed  him.  Again  he  sought  his  native 
land.  He  fell  into  a  dispute  about  Calvinism,  and  his  oppo- 
nent urged  him  to  read  St.  Paul's  Epistle  tcf  the  Romans  :  so 
he  sat  down  to  read  Burkitt's  Commentary.  "  But  how  shall 
I  describe  the  change  wrought  in  my  mind  while  rapidly,  and 
with  almost  breathless  attention,  going  through  that  Epistle, 
without  taking  in  one  word  of  the  Commentary  ?  Tlie  doc- 
trine which  I  wished  to  explore  vanished  from  my  remem- 
brance. I  discovered  that  which  I  needed  much  more,  Salva- 
tion by  Grace,  through  Faith."  He  sought  for  farther  hght, 
and  went  to  hear  Smyth,  an  archbishop's  nephew,  who  was 
announced  to  preach  in  the  Methodist  Chapel.  "  How  great 
was  my  disappointment !  A  layman,  with  his  i^lain  coat,  when 
I  expected  the  gown,  ascended  the  pulpit."  The  preacher 
was  Samuel  Bradburn.  "  The  sermon  throughout  was  highly 
impressive,  and  some  parts  of  it  came  home  to  my  case."  Soon 
afterward  he  found  peace  Avith  God,  joined  the  society,  and 
began  to  preach.  Wesley  sent  him  into  the  Londonderry  Cir- 
cuit in  1779,  and,  having  watched  his  course,  and  taken  the 
measure  of  his  talents,  appointed  him,  in  1784,  to  the  London 
Circuit.  Coke  was  anxious  that  he  should  be  ordained  as  a 
bishop  for  America,  but  Wesley  absolutely  refused.  Moore 
attended  Wesley  in  his  study  at  5  o'clock  every  morning,  read 
the  letters,  and  answered  many  of  them.  Wesley  "  had  very 
much  forgotten  his  French,  which  was  still  fresh  with"  Moore ; 
"  and  he  received  many  French  letters."  Moore  traveled  with 
him  during  the  winter,  and  "  was  never  absent  from  him  on 
the  journey,  night  or  day."  "He  had  always  books  Avith  him 
in  the  carriage,  and  used  sometimes  to  read  his  oAvn  excerj)ta 
of  the  classics  to  me." 

Charles  Wesley  AAashed  Moore  to  take  orders  in  the  Church 
of  England ;  but  John  Wesley  cut  the  matter  short  by  taking 
part,  in  conjunction  Avith  two  other  Anglican  Presbyters,  in 
ordaining  his  3'oung  companion.  As  it  turned  out,  this  was  a 
mistake.  Other  preachers,  Avho,  in  like  manner,  receiA^ed  or- 
ders, never  regarded  them,  after  Wesley's  death,  as  haAung 


222  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

created  any  veal  distinction  between  tliemselves  and  their 
brethren  ;  but  Moore  ever  and  anon  stood  upon  his  rights. 
In  1786  he  was  appointed  to  DubHn  ;  ])ut  two  years  afterward 
Wesley  evmced  his  great  attachment  to  liini  by  agam  station- 
ing him  in  London,  and  in  1790  in  Bristol,  where  Wesley  spent 
almost  as  much  time  as  in  the  metropolis.*  By  Wesley's  will, 
the  right  to  prc-Tch  at  his  clinpel  in  the  City  Koad,  London, 
and  to  appoint  preachers  for  his  chapel  in  King  Street,  Bath, 
was  given  to  four  clergymen  and  to  eight  of  his  preachers. 
Of  these  latter  only  two  had  been  ordained  by  himself:  INIoore 
was  one.  He  accounts  for  this  exceptional  mode  of  appoint- 
ment, in  the  case  of  these  two  chapels,  on  the  theory  that  Wes- 
ley had  confidence  that  these  twelve  men  would  maintain  the 
system  of  itinerancy  so  far  as  these  chapels  were  concerned. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  powers  conferred  by  the  will  were  quietly 
ceded  to  the  Conference  as  soon  as  Wesley  died.  It  was  felt 
to  be  impossible  to  reconcile  such  an  irregular  plan  of  action 
with  the  general  system  of  itinerancy.  During  the  disputes 
which  followed,  Moore  warmly  espoused  the  side  of  the  sepa- 
ratists from  the  Church  of  England ;  more,  as  I  gather  from 
his  biograi)hy,  in  reliance  on  his  own  ordhiation  than  as  con- 
tending for  the  common  rights  of  his  brethren.  Against  those 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  which  were  enacted  in  1797  he 
veliemently  protested.  But  his  well-deserved  reputation  as  a 
theologian ;  the  power  of  his  "  profound,  luminous,  and  sen- 
tentious" preaching ;  the  gravity  and  stateliness  of  his  de- 
meanor; his  quiet  humor,  kindling  sometimes  into  si)arkling 
wit :  his  creneral  force  and  weight  of  character;  and  AVeslev's 
recorded  confidence  in  his  integrity  and  Avisdom,  all  ])laccd 
liim,  for  many  years,  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  connection. 
His  crotchets  did  not  l)econie  i>rominent  until  they  had  lost 
power  to  hurt.  lie  made  a  fruitless  eilbrt  to  occupy,  inde- 
pendently of  the  Conference,  AVesley's  own  pulpit  and  house. 
For  a  time  he  resolutely  o]iposed  the  formation  of  the  Wes- 

♦  In  a  IcUer  from  Wesley  to  Moore,  dated  "Diimfiics,  June  1st,  17!)0," 
ho  says,  "  So  I  am  upon  tlic  holders  of  Enp;hind  once  aRiiin.  My  sij;ht  is 
mucli  as  it  w.is;  hut  I  doubt  I  shall  not  recover  my  strcufith  till  I  use  that 
nohic  medicine,  preaching  iii  the  morninp."  To  think  of  carly-morninp 
preaching  curing  the  ailments  of  a  man  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his 
age  I 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN  LONDON.  223 

leyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society,  though  afterward  he  be- 
came one  of  its  heartiest  friends.  He  could  not,  or  would  not, 
believe  that  the  candidates  for  the  ministry  ought  to  be  trahied 
in  a  theological  institution,  and,  accordingly,  in  1835,  his  name 
was,  with  his  consent,  used  against  the  Conference  in  the  liti- 
gation which  resulted  from  the  proceedings  taken  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Samuel  Warren.  Subsequently  he  politely  offered  ordina- 
tion to  the  entire  body  of  his  brethren.  After  a  long  period 
of  vigorous  and  self-possessed  old  age,  he  died  in  1844.  His 
friendship  with  my  father  was  for  many  years  firm,  frank,  and 
affectionate,  except  at  times  when  the  latter  asserted  the  au- 
thority of  the  Conference  over  one  of  Wesley's  favorite  sons.* 
Their  personal  intercourse,  however,  was  terminated  when 
some  gathered  around  Moore  in  his  later  days  who  did  much 
to  cheer  and  comfort  him,  but  whom  my  father  could  not  meet 
without  danger  of  unpleasant  collision.  His  biography  of 
Wesley  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  liistory  of  Methodism, 
but  it  is  in  some  places  tinctured  with  his  own  peculiar  views, 
and  especially  with  those  of  them  which  affected  his  personal 
position.  His  sermon  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  ripe 
result,  no  doubt,  of  his  first  impressions  vrhen  readmg  it,  is 
regarded  by  competent  judges  as  a  master-piece  in  its  own 
class  of  pulpit  composition.  The  sermons  pubUshed  in  a  sepa- 
rate volume  have  not  obtained  such  a  circulation  as  to  create 
any  general  opinion  of  their  merits.  He  was  the  intimate 
friend  of  Alexander  Knox,  whose  father  and  mother  were 
Methodists  in  his  first  circuit,  as  also  of  Mary  Tighc,  the  au- 
thoress of  "  Psyche ;"  considered,  by  a  judge  no  less  competent 
than  Sir  James  jNIackintosh,  as  the  best  poem  in  the  language 
composed  by  a  female  writer.  I  can  not  hope  that  this  sketch 
has  done  Mr.  Moore  full  justice,  but  I  think  the  portrait  is  sub- 
stantially true  to  nature ;  if  not,  I  have  failed  to  convey  the 

*  The  history  of  the  "Bible  Christians,"  sometimes  improperly  called 
Brianites,  one  of  the  minor  sects  of  Methodists,  and  prevailing  chiefly  in 
the  West  of  England,  supplies  a  remarkable  incident.  Tiieir  founder,  to 
whom  many  of  thcni  were  placed  under  the  strongest  religious  obligations, 
clearly  and  contumaciously  violated  their  rules.  They  firmly  resisted  him, 
and  ultimately  dissolved  their  connection  with  him,  thougli  their  contribu- 
tions still  make  his  old  age  comfortable.  This  fact  was  related  to  me  by 
Mr.  James  Thorne,  one  of  their  ministers,  to  whose  name  I  can  not  refer 
but  in  terms  of  affection  and  respect. 


22-i  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

pleasant  impi'cssion  produced  upon  me  by  the  striking  appear- 
ance, sagacious  sayings,  and  constant,  condescending  kindness 
of  one  oi"  the  greatest  and  most  venerable  men  wlioin  it  \v:is 
ever  my  privilege  to  know. 

A  letter  from  Miss  Percival,  dated  "September  Tth,  1804," 
announced  the  death  of  my  father's  early  benefactor. 

"My  dear  Sir, — You  will  doubtless  have  been  apprised  of 
the  very  melancholy  and  afflicting  event  which  has  hajipened 
to  this  family.  The  fortitude  and  resignation  with  which  my 
mother  has  supported  herself  are  truly  admirable,  and  I  trust 
that  Ave  have  all  endeavored  to  call  forth  that  strength  of  mind 
of  which  we  have  lately  lost  so  exalted  a  pattern.  In  your 
sympathy  Ave  feel  confident ;  and  it  will,  perhaps,  afford  you 
some  gratification  to  learn  that  my  dear  father  has  mentioned 
you  in  his  papers  in  the  kuidest  terms.  The  following  is  an 
extract  from  one  of  these  papers  that  I  allude  to.  'It  is  my 
earnest  request  that  my  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Jabez  Bunting, 
will  assist  my  dear  son,  Edward  Cropper  Percival,  in  the  ex- 
ammatiou  of  my  manuscript  letters  and  jnajters,  ibr  the  )nu*- 
pose  of  selecting  what  should  be  preserved,  and  of  destroying 
whatever  may  be  useless  or  improper  to  be  kept.  In  their 
secrecy  and  discretion  I  have  complete  coniidence.'  My  fa- 
tlier  has  also  directed  a  mourning  ring  to  be  sent  to  you." 

In  Yc\)]y  to  a  lettei"  on  the  same  mournful  occasion,  received 
from  Mr.  Edward  Percival,  my  father  wrote  on  September 
15th,  1804: 

"Mv  DEAR  Sir, — When  your  letter  arrived  at  City  Road  I 
wa.s  unfortunately  absent,  so  that  it  lay  there  some  time  be- 
fore I  received  it.  Acce])t  this  as  my  ajiology  for  not  having 
sooner  rej)lied  to  its  contents.  Of  the  decease  of  my  most 
honored  and  cver-to-bc-venerated  friend  I  had  not  before  been 
apprised.  The  melancholy  intelligence  greatly  affected  my 
mind.  Be  assured  that  I  cordially  syn)j»athi/.e  with  Mrs.  IVr- 
cival,  yourself,  and  ycnn*  whole  family.  After  sjiending  in  his 
household  four  of  the  hapjiiest  years  of  my  life,  and  enjoying 
80  many  opportunities  of  witnessing  his  manifold  excellences, 
it  is  impossible  that  I  should  hear  of  the  removal  of  so  exalted 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY  IN  LONDON.  225 

a  character  from  our  world  without  emotions  of  Uvely  regret. 
Indeed,  not  to  lament  his  departure  as  a  most  painful  dispensa- 
tion of  Divine  Providence  Avould  argue  a  criminal  insensibility 
to  his  worth,  and  a  cuIiDable  ingratitude  for  the  benefits  de- 
rived from  his  society  and  example.  But,  while  we  feel  as 
men,  let  us  submit  as  Christians.  From  the  animating  doc- 
trines and  momentous  discoveries  of  that  Gospel  in  which  your 
father  was  so  firm  a  believer,  and  of  Avhich  he  Avas  occasional- 
ly so  able  a  defender,  we  shall  derive  the  most  effectual  relief 
and  consolation  under  such  trying  bereavements.  Let  us  thank 
God  that  we  are  not  left  to  mourn  like  those  who  are  Avithout 
hope.  Life  and  inmiortality  are  brought  to  clear  and  certain 
light ;  and  we  now  not  only  trust,  but  know,  that  death  is  not 
an  extmction,  but  a  mere  change  of  being.  May  I  take  the 
liberty  of  requesting  from  you,  when  you  write,  some  farther 
particulars  as  to  the  time  of  your  excellent  father's  death,  the 
nature  and  duration  of  his  previous  illness,  etc.  ?  It  docs,  in- 
deed, afford  me  the  highest  gratification  to  find  that  I  am  so 
kindly  mentioned  in  your  father's  papers.  His  friendly  re- 
membrance of  me  I  always  estimated  most  highly,  but  I  am 
doubly  grateful  for  this  last  honorable  expression  of  it.  With 
respect  to  the  examination  of  the  manuscripts,  you  have  doubt- 
less anticipated  my  determination.  'The  earnest  request'  of 
one  to  whom  I  am  under  everlasting  obligations  I  certainly 
could  not  think  of  refusing,  especially  on  this  affecting  occa- 
sion. I  shall  be  happy  to  comply  Avith  it  as  soon  as  possible, 
by  rendering  you  every  assistance  in  my  poAver.  At  present 
I  am  almost  unavoidably  confined  in  London  by  the  illness  of 
one  of  my  colleagues  in  the  ministry,  but  in  about  a  month  or 
fiA-e  Avecks  hence,  if  no  unexpected  occurrence  prevent,  I  can 
conveniently  visit  Manchester  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  you  in 
the  execution  of  your  trust.  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  fiivored  Avith 
a  fcAV  lines  by  return  of  post,  acquainting  me  Avhether  this  pro- 
posal meets  your  aj^probation,  or  suggesting  any  other  plan 
that  you  may  prefer.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  Avhat  length 
of  time  tlie  business  Avill  require.  Perhaps  you  can  give  me 
some  information  on  this  point.  "Will  five  or  six  hours  a  daA', 
if  regularly  devoted  to  this  employment  for  the  space  of  a  fort- 
night, be  sufticient  ?  I  must  beg  you  to  present  my  respectful 
compliments  and  most  sincere  condolence  to  Mrs.  Percival  and 

K2 


226  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUXTING. 

the  family  in  Mosley  Street.  With  great  pleasure  I  received 
the  intimation  of  the  fortitude  and  resignation  displayed  by 
your  excellent  mother." 

A  letter  to  my  mother,  dated  October  18th,  1804,  written 
at  Manchester,  where  he  had  conmienced  the  examination  of 
Dr.  Percival's  papers,  records  his  first  visits  to  two  eminent 
men.  "Daylight  appeared  just  as  we  entered  Birmingham. 
I  immediately  visited  Mr.  Moore,  who  was  exceedingly  kind 
and  friendly."  And  again :  "  I  have  also  spent  an  hour  with 
Mr.  Clarke,  and  Avas  exceedmgly  charmed  Avith  him.  I  have 
promised  to  supply  his  place  at  Oldham  Street  on  Sunday  and 
Monday  evenings."  So  also  on  Monday,  October  22tl,  1804: 
"  I  again  returned  to  Mrs.  Percival's,  and  staid  there  till  5 
o'clock ;  then  spent  an  hour  most  agreeably  with  the  great  and 
good  Adam  Clarke  in  his  study;  drank  tea  at  my  mother's; 
heard  part  of  Mr.  Clarke's  sermon  at  Oldham  Street,  and  final- 
ly walked  over  to  Oldham.  The  journey  Avas  rendered  more 
pleasant  by  Albiston's  society,  who  walked  with  me  half  the 
way.  I  arrived  about  10  o'clock;  sat  half  an  hour  at  Mr. 
Marsden's,  where  I  found  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greaves,  and  then  went 
to  my  old  friend  INIr.  Abbot's,  where  I  was  received,  as  usual, 
most  cordially.  Next  forenoon,  at  half  past  10,  I  preached 
from  Acts,  iii.,  26  ;  dined  at  Mr.  Marsden's,  and  arrived  in  Man- 
chester about  half  past  4.  I  drank  tea  at  Mr.  Wood's,  and 
preached  in  Oldluun  Street  to  an  amazing  crowd  of  hearers, 
with  tolerable  liberty,  from  Job,  xxii.,  21.  After  hearing  j\Ir. 
Clarke  deliver  an  interesting  exhortation  to  the  society,  I  re- 
turned, in  company  with  Mr.  Daniel  Burton,  to  Mr.  Wood's, 
where  avc  supped,  and  then  went  home  to  my  mother's,  to  close 
a  fatiguing  yet  not  unpleasant  day." 

A  short  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  an  aged  i>reacher, 
whose  name  I  have  already  mentioned  with  honor,  will  show 
what  sort  of  women  were  the  Avives  of  men  like  him.  By 
"clearing  the  books  of  her  name"  Avas  intended  the  AvithdraAv- 
al  of  all  claims  upon  the  lunds  of  the  connection  in  resj»cct  of 
her  personal  maintenance.  At  that  time  those  funds  Avere  ex- 
ceedingly embarrassed;  and  the  mode  in  Avliich  the  alloAvances 
formiiiisters'  Avives  Avere  recorded  in  tlie  minutes  must  have 
offended  the  feelings  of  any  gentle av on uxu. 


niS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  227 

"  Shepton,  December  1st,  1804. 
"  I  suppose  you  had  not  heard  of  the  death  of  my  wife's  fa- 
ther, who  died  about  a  month  since,  after  a  short  iUness,  on  his 
return  from  a  wateruig-place.  He  has  very  kindly  remember- 
ed us,  and  has  left  us  (what  I  would  not  choose  to  mention  to 
any  but  yourself,  as  I  know  you  love  us)  a  little  more  than  two 
thousand  pounds.  This  will  help  to  make  a  few  inconveniences 
here  very  convenient  to  us,  and  Avill  also  help  us,  now  and  then, 
to  make  the  hearts  of  some  poor  people  glad,  and  this  will  be 
a  special  pleasure  to  us.  This  will  also  help  my  wife  to  clear 
the  books  of  her  name,  which  she  always  uitended  on  this 
event." 

The  year  1 805  commences  with  a  letter  to  Mr  .Wood.  "  What 

harebrained  work  has  been  going  on  lately  at !     Much 

as  I  detest  some  of  the  abominations  which  have  been  wont  to 
defile  the  sanctuary  there,  it  is  impossible  not  to  condemn  the 
violent  method  which,  if  my  information  be  correct,  has  been 
taken  to  suppress  them.  Wliat  say  the  Manchester  critics  to 
the  '  Eclectic  Review  ?'  The  sti*f)ng  passage  in  the  first  num- 
ber, which  intimates  that  Calvinism  is  unanswered  and  unan- 
swerable, is  a  grievous  departure  from  the  professions  of  Ca- 
tholicism contained  in  the  Prospectus  and  in  the  Preface.  I 
believe  some  apology  for  it  will  appear  in  the  second  number." 

The  strife  to  Avhich  the  former  part  of  this  letter  refers  has 
lost  all  its  importance  ;  but  my  father's  allusion  to  it  shows  thus 
early  his  opinions  in  reference  to  siich  questions.     It  had  been 

the  practice  at that  the  hymns  sung  during  the  evenmg 

service,  immediately  before  the  sermon,  should  be  selected  from 
a  hymn-book  not  authorized  by  the  Connection  ;  and  the  times 
were  often  such  as  the  chief  part  of  the  congregation  could  not 
sing.  Nor  was  this  all :  "  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  jisal- 
tery,  and  all  kinds  of  music,"  soimds  not  incompatible  with  a 
ceremonial  religion,  and  harmonizing  well  with  the  worship  of 
a  "  golden  image,"  were,  in  this  instance,  statedly  employed,  in 
distracting  variety,  in  the  spiritual  exercises  of  the  Christian 
sanctuary.  This  was  the  class  of  abominations  to  Avliich  my 
father  alludes.  The  second  minister  on  the  circuit,  objecting 
very  properly  to  these  courses,  interfered  to  prevent  them,  m 
defiance  of  the  injunction  of  his  superintendent,  and  by  modes 


228  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

Avliich,  Avlictlier  wrong  f'l"  I'iglit  in  themselves,  gave  great  um- 
brage to  the  congregation,  wlio  loved  "  to  have  it  so."  The  re- 
sult was  some  four  or  live  months'  violent  dislurbance  of  the 
society,  ami  great  scandal  in  tlie  town  and  neighborhood.  The 
trustees  intimated  some  intention  to  avail  themselves  of  an  un- 
usual provision  in  their  Trust  Deed,  and  to  prevent  the  minis- 
ter from  occui)ying  the  ])ulpit ;  whereupon  he,  whose  acts  had 
created  the  confusion,  claimed  the  protection  of  a  special  Dis- 
trict raeetuig.  Adam  Clarke,  the  chairman,  wrote  to  the  su- 
perintendent accordingly,  announcing  his  intention  to  summon 
that  tribunal,  imless  the  trustees  should  rescind  their  resolu- 
tions. The  trustees  peremi)torily  refused  to  do  so.  Ultimate- 
ly the  matter  Avas  settled,  tln-ough  the  intervention  of  tlie  Dis- 
trict meeting,  at  its  annual  session  in  May,  by  an-anging  that 
the  preacher  might  choose  such  a  hymn  as  appeared  in  botli  the 
regular  hymn-book  and  in  that  objected  to,  the  tune  being  jeft 
to  the  choice  of  tlie  choir.  The  succeeding  Conference  inquired 
into  the  whole  aftair,  and  passed  a  series  of  regulations  hitended 
to  put  a  stop  to  all  such  practices  as  had  prevailed  at  the  ])lace 
in  question.  My  father's  verj^ strong  language  proves  how  thor- 
ouglily  he  sympathi/x'd  Mith  the  decision  of  the  Conference. 
But  he  condemned  the  conduct  of  the  minister,  who,  in  oj^josi- 
tion  to  the  judgment  and  advice  of  his  superintendent,  had 
chosen  his  own  time  and  modes  of  raising  and  of  carrying  on 
the  contest.  It  was  the  individual  act  of  a  man  bound  not  to 
act  individually  ;  the  assertion  of  individual  conscience  against 
law,  which  the  same  conscience  had  selected  as  its  guide. 

The  passage  in  the  first  number  of  the  "Eclectic  Review," 
referred  to  in  the  letter  last  quoted,  gave  my  father  great  con- 
cern, and  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  editors  M'hich  I  think 
well  wortliy  of  ])rcservation. 

"To  mi:  I'^DiTOKs  ok  thk  Eclectic  Revikw. 

"Gentlemen, — 1  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  on  the 
subject  of  an  article  which  ap))ears  in  the  first  number  of  your 
work,  and  of  which  some  fric-ndly  ex)>lanation  seems  to  be  re- 
quired by  tlie  res])ect  which  you  owe  both  to  your  own  jjrofes- 
sions  of  universal  candor  and  to  a  considerable  number  of  your 
theological  readers. 

"  The  article  to  which  I  allude  is  your  review  of  Dr.  Law's 


niS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  229 

sermon,  preached  before  the  University  of  Cambridge.  You 
inform  us  that  one  of  tlic  examples  by  which  the  preaclier  ilhis- 
trated  liis  general  position  relates  to  the  eonsistency  of  the  lib- 
erty of  man  with  the  foreknowledge  of  God.  On  this  subject, 
it  is  observed  that  the  question  at  issue  is, '  Wherein  does  the 
freedom  of  the  will  consist  ?'  that  Dr.  Law's  answer  seems  to 
be, '  In  its  self-determining  power  ;'  but  that  Mr.  Edwards  and 
the  modern  Calvinists  would  reply, '  In  its  acting  without  com- 
pulsion, and  choosing  or  refusing,  according  to  the  strength  or 
weakness  of  the  motives  presented  to  it.'  You  farther  remark, 
'  This  is  the  system  which  Dr.  Law  attacked  and  refuted.'  And 
then  follows  the  passage,  with  some  parts  of  which,  in  my  opin- 
ion, your  Arminian  readers  have  reason  to  be  dissatisfied.  '  Of 
late,'  you  say, '  we  have  observed,'  etc.,  as  far  as  '  can  bestow.' 
— Eclectic  Hcvieio,  p.  69.* 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  to  the  first  two  sentences  of  this  quota- 
tion I  have  nothing  to  object.  Even  a  candid  Arminian,  though 
he  may,  on  the  Avhole,  decidedly  prefer  his  own  hypothesis, 
will  readily  allow  that  the  Calvinists  have  a  great  deal  to  say 
for  themselves,  and  that  persons  discover  a  culpable  ignorance 
of  what  they  have  actually  said  on  the  difticult  point  to  which 
you  refer  who  '  load  Calvinism  with  CA-ery  opprobrium,'  and 
'look  down  on  it  with  sovereign  contempt.'  But  jjermit  me, 
gentlemen,  to  ask  you,  Is  not  the  necessity  of  liberal  and  re- 
spectful forbearance  on  this  abstruse  and  long-controverted 
question  mutual,  and  1)inding  on  both  parties  ?  Will  not  every 
candid  Calvinist  allow  that  his  scheme  also,  though  to  him  it 
appears  decidedly  superior  to  every  other,  is,  however,  attended 
with  some  difliculties,  and  that  Arminians  'have  a  good  deal 
to  say  for  themselves  ?'     And,  if  he  has  carefully  perused  their 

*  The  whole  passage  runs  thus  :  "  Of  h\te  we  have  observed,  in  gentlemen 
of  Dr.  Law's  seiithnents,  a  disposition  to  load  Calvinism  with  every  oppro- 
brium, and  to  look  down  on  it  with  sovereign  contempt.  But,  if  they  would 
peruse  Edwards  on  the  Freedom  of  the  Will,  and  his  book  on  Original  Sin, 
with  fairness  and  candor,  they  would  be  constrained  to  admit  that  the  Cal- 
vinists have  a  great  deal  to  say  for  themselves.  These  two  books  of  Ed- 
wards's have  been  in  the  world  half  a  century  without  an  answer ;  it  is, 
therefore,  certainly  full  time  for  the  champions  of  the  opposite  system  to  sit 
down  and  confute  them.  The  man  who  shall  do  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  im- 
partial believers  will  be  entitled  to  the  highest  honors  which  the  republic  of 
letters  can  bestow." 


230  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

writings,  will  he  not  concede,  in  his  turn,  that  it  hetrays  a  want 
of  intbrniatiou  to  '  load  their  system  with  every  o]iprobriiun,' 
or  to  'look  down  upon  it  with  sovereitjn  contetni)t  V 

"It  is  on  the  tjrouud  thus  stated  tliat  I  venture  to  oljjcct  to 
the  two  concluding  sentences  of  the  passage  I  have  cited.  They 
seem  to  some  to  contain  expressions  rather  too  bold  and  tri- 
lunphant.  I  do  not  suppose  that  you  designed  to  commit  your- 
selves as  parties  in  this  controversy  at  the  very  commencement 
of  your  work.  But  has  not  the  language  you  adopt  too  muc-li 
the  tone  and  style  of  polemics  ?  Does  it  not  appear  to  throw 
down  the  gauntlet,  and  to  breathe  the  spirit  of  defiance  against 
Arminians  ?  For  the  character  of  Mr.  Edwards,  both  as  a 
Christian  and  an  author,  I  entertain  the  highest  respect.  Ills 
work  on  Free  Will  is,  not  without  reason,  selected,  as  contaui- 
iug  the  strength  of  the  cause  whicli  it  su])ports.  But  your  as- 
sertion that  it  has  '  been  in  the  world  half  a  century  without  an 
answer'  demands  some  explanation.  Perhaps  it  only  means 
that,  in  your  judgment,  that  treatise  has  never  been  well  or  sat- 
isfactorily answered.  This  opinion  I  question  not  your  right  to 
entertain,  but  I  doubt  the  propriety  of  involvhig  your  Keview 
in  the  responsibility  connected  with  so  victorious  an  avowal  of 
it,  after  your  Prospectus  has  promised  '  a  general  and  universal 
candor  respecting  subjects  on  which  the  best  and  wisest  of 
mankind  are  divided,'  and  after  your  Preface  had  declared, 
'  Things  in  which  we  difler  from  eacli  other  avc  agree  to  leave 
undecided.' 

"If  the  assertion  under  consideration  was  meant  to  imjjly 
that  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Edwards  on  Free  Will  have  never 
l)een  answered  at  all,  I  beg  leave  to  remind  you  that,  when  they 
were  detailed  and  enforced  by  Mr.Toj^lady,  they  were  fully  ex- 
amined by  Mr.  Fletcher,  \'iear  of  INladeley,  in  a  tract  entitled 
'A  Kejjly  to  the  j)rinripal  .Vrgunu'iits  in  favor  of  Absolute  Ne- 
cessity,' Avhieh  is  reprinted  in  the  seventh  volume  of  his  works. 
But  perhaps  you  only  meant  to  assert  that,  whatever  attention 
may  have  been  pai<l  to  the  <irr/tn)ie)its  of  Mr.  Edwards,  his  book 
has  never  been  formally  and  exi)licitly  attacked.  Now,  in  my 
ajtprehension,  to  answer  an  author's  arguments  is,  in  eflect,  to 
answer  his  book,  whether  his  name,  and  the  jiarticular  pages  of 
his  book,  be  or  be  not  quoted.  But  still  you  are  not  strictly 
correct.     Mr.  Edwards's    treatise    is    formally    and    explicitly 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   LONDON.  231 

named,  and  his  theory  fairly  stated  and  zealously  controverted, 
in '  Thonglits  on  Necessity,  by  John  Wesley,  A.M.  Second  edi- 
tion.    London,  IV 75.' 

"  I  was  exceedingly  gratified,  gentlemen,  on  the  appearance 
of  yonr  Prospectus,  by  the  promise  of  a  Review  on  principles 
decidedly  orthodox,  yet  uniformly  catholic,  and  friendly  to  all 
who  hold  those  great  truths  which  are  the  vitals  and  funda- 
mentals of  Christianity.  This  promise  I  still  hope  and  believe 
you  intend  to  fulfill.  The  apparent  deviation  from  it,  which 
has  occasioned  this  letter,  has  probably  proceeded  from  haste, 
and  will  be  candidly  acknowledged,  as  it  was,  I  doubt  not,  in- 
advertantly committed.  I  am  aware  that  much  liljeral  indul- 
gence is  due,  on  such  occasions,  to  the  conductors  of  a  work 
hke  yours ;  and  though  I  was  somewhat  mortified,  on  the  pe- 
rusal of  your  Review,  by  a"  seeming  departure  from  your  pro- 
fessions, reflection  soon  suggested  an  apology  for  the  language 
you  have  used.  Perhaps  by  Calvinism  you  chiefly  mean,  not 
the  mere  peculiarities  of  Calvin  on  the  subject  of  absolute  pre- 
destination and  other  kindred  topics,  but  the  grand  system  of 
evangelical  truths  taught  by  that  great  man,  in  conjunction  with 
Luther  and  other  reformers.  These  are  truths  which  all  seri- 
ous Christians  agree  to  hold  as  essential,  however  divided  on 
questions  of  only  secondary  and  subordinate  imijortance.  If 
Calvinism  be  thus  identified,  in  your  phraseology,  with  the  glo- 
rious Gospel  of  '  the  great  God,  even  our  Sa-\aor,  Jesus  Christ' 
— if  you  use  that  term  as  including  the  doctrines  of  Original  Sin 
and  of  Hereditary  Depravity ;  of  Salvation  by  Grace  alone ; 
Justification  by  Faith  in  Christ's  active  and  passive  Obedience; 
Regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  other  similar  truths  nec- 
essarily connected  with  these,  the  case  is  altered.  I  may  still 
doubt,  indeed,  the  strict  correctness  -of  your  nomenclature,  but 
I  no  longer  object  to  your  decision  and  zeal.  I  no  longer  con- 
demn your  triumphant  challenge  to  all  opponents.  Among  the 
'  champions  of  the  opposite  system'  to  this,  God  forbid  that  I 
should  ever  be  found.  This  system  is  unspeakably  dear  to  nie 
and  to  many  others,  who  nevertheless  are  called  Arminians  be- 
cause we  believe  in  General  rather  than  in  Pai-ticular  Redemj> 
tion,  or,  in  other  words,  because  we  think  that  Jesus  Christ  in 
such  a  sense  died  for  all  men,  that  all  men  through  Him  may 
(we  do  not  say  will  or  must)  be  saved.     As  to  any  persons 


232  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

called  Arminians  wlio,  though  they  agree  with  us  on  this  point, 
deny  the  nionientous  verities  before  mentioned,  we  disclaim  all 
resi^onsibility  for  their  errors,  and  protest  against  that  inaccurate 
classification  which  would  rank  us  with  I'elagians,  Arians,  So- 
cinians,  or,  in  tine,  with  any  who  deny  the  total  misery  of  man 
bv  nature,  or  ascribe  his  recovery  to  any  other  source  than  the 
free  and  unmerited  grace  of  God  in  Christ.  From  the  posi- 
tions of  Edwards  in  his  book  on  '  Free  Will'  we  do  indeed  dis- 
sent, but  with  his  leading  doctrine  of  Original  Sin  we  cordially 
agree. 

"  On  these  principles,  gentlemen,  and  with  sincere  wishes  for 
the  success  of  your  excellent  undertaking,  I  have  the  honor  to 
subscribe  myself,  An  Oktiiodox  Arminian." 

On  April  1st,  1805,  my  father  addressed  the  following  letter 
to  his  friend  Mr.  Wood,  then  the  Steward  of  the  Manchester 
Circuit. 

"My  dear  Friend, — Being  absent  from  home  when  your 
letter  arrived,  I  received  it  only  three  days  ago.  I  must  begin 
this  answer  to  it  by  expressing  my  grateful  acknowledgments 
to  the  persons  who  composed  your  late  Quarterly  meeting  in 
Manchester  for  the  good  opinion  which  they  entertain  of  me, 
and  for  the  api^lication  with  which  they  have  honored  me.  But 
I  fear,  and,  indeed,  I  am  sure,  that  they  very  much  overrate  my 
qualifications  for  the  important  situation  whicli  they  wish  me 
to  occupy  among  them.  The  kindness  of  the  request,  however, 
in  connection  with  the  similar  partiality  which  some  of  them 
have  formerly  discovered,  demanded  my  serious  attention  to 
their  proposal,  and  I  will,  with  all  frankness  and  simplicity,  de- 
tail to  you  my  thoughts  oh  the  subject. 

"  My  social  feelings  strongly  incline  me  to  wish  for  such  an 
appointment.  To  be  so  near  to  my  dear  mother  and  sisters 
would  certainly  be  a  high  gratification  to  me,  and  might  enable 
me  to  contribute,  more  efVoctually  than  I  otherwise  could,  to 
the  comfort  of  the  former,  under  the  pressure  of  infirmities  and 
declining  years.  JVIost  of  my  other  intimate  friends  and  con- 
nections, too,  are  in  Manchester  or  its  neighborhood,  and  I 
should  greatly  prize  the  opportunity  of  spending  a  year  with 
one  whom  I  so  greatly  respect  as  yourself. 


HIS   EARLY   MimSTRY   IN   LONDON.  233 

"  My  public  feelings  are  decidedly  against  such  an  appoint- 
ment. I  must  be  allowed  to  know  the  state  of  my  own  minis- 
terial attainments  much  better  than  others  can,  and  I  am  satis- 
fied that  they  are  not  at  present  such  as  they  should  be  before 
I  am  stationed  for  Manchester.  I  am  a  very  young  man  and  a 
very  young  preacher.  My  Manchester  friends  have  not  forgot- 
ten me  as  the  boy  they  once  knew ;  nor  are  my  qualifications 
for  the  pulpit,  be  they  in  themselves  what  they  may,  suflicient- 
ly  matured  to  secure  for  me,  in  my  native  town,  that  permanent 
attention  and  respect,  which  are,  in  my  judgment,  almost  essen- 
tial to  the  due  reception  and  complete  success  of  ministerial 
exertions.  Destitute,  in  a  great  measure,  both  of  personal  in- 
fluence, and  of  that  consideration  which  is  conferred  by  age  and 
well-cultivated  talents,  I  think  it  is  too  soon  for  me  to  appear 
in  Manchester  as  one  of  their  stated  preachers.  Some  years 
hence,  if  spared,  I  may,  through  Divine  assistance,  be  more 
likely  to  fill  that  station  with  advantage  to  the  people,  with 
some  degree  of  credit  to  the  ministry,  and  with  pleasure  to 
myself.  My  personal  feelings,  also,  lead  me  to  shrink  from  the 
appointment  proposed.  I  have  somehow  contracted  an  uncon- 
querable aversion  to  all  large  towns.  I  think  them  very  un- , 
friendly  both  to  intellectual  improvement  and  to  spiritual  pros- 
perity, especially  in  the  case  of  a  young  preacher.  Manchester 
is  to  me  particularly  objectionable.  My  acquaintance  there  is 
already  too  large,  and,  if  I  be  stationed  in  it,  will  of  necessity 
become  still  larger.  I  fear  I  should  be  ol)liged  to  be  often  in 
company,  either  in  my  own  house  or  in  those  of  others,  when  I 
ought  to  be  in  my  study,  and  to  live  more  in  public  than  I  can 
ever  bring  myself  to  do  with  comfort.  There  is  another  thing 
which  to  you,  in  confidence,  I  can  state.  You  Avell  know  that 
the  cast  and  character  of  our  minds  are  materially  influenced 
and  moulded  by  the  external  circumstances  in  which  we  are 
placed.  A  young  man  who  is  fixed,  year  after  year,  in  those 
very  promment  situations  which  call  him  much  into  publicity 
and  activity,  is  in  danger  of  becoming  insensibh^,  and  by  slow 
degrees,  too  public  and  too  active.  His  temptations  to  pre- 
sumption and  forwardness  are  multiplied.  I  do,  therefore,  se- 
riously think  that  a  small,  obscure,  coimtry  circuit  would  be 
better  for  me  than  a  large  town,  esiDccially  as  my  constitutional 
disposition  is  more  ardent  than  is,  perhaps,  at  all  times  consist- 


23-i  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

cnt  with  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ.  I  am  prone 
to  think  aiul  s])eak  Avith  an  excess  of  decision  and  energy.  If 
I  am  providentially  ])laced  in  a  station  such  as  those  before  al- 
luded to,  I  seem  bound  to  enter,  with  all  my  soul,  into  all  the 
duties  and  all  the  business  connected  with  it.  But  this  creates 
occasions  of  temptation,  and  I  am  jealous  as  to  the  effect  of 
such  exposures  on  the  moral  habitudes  of  my  own  mind. 

"  You  now  know,  my  dear  friend,  how  I  thmk  and  feel  on 
the  subject  of  your  letter.  You  will  therefore  perceive  that  I 
can  not  say,  as  you  desire,  I  have  no  objections  to  be  fixed  in 
Manchester.  However,  on  the  whole,  I  think  it  best,  though 
not  without  some  scruples  to  the  contrary,  to  be,  as  I  hitherto 
have  been,  quiet  and  passive  in  these  matters.  If  it  be  still 
thought  proper  to  petition  for  me,  and  the  Conference  make  the 
appointment,  though  I  shall  have  many  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  their  decision,  I  shall  then  have  none  as  to  my  own  duty  to 
comply  with  it.  In  that  case,  I  shall  enter  on  my  work  with 
much  fear  and  trembling  indeed,  but  witli  Inunble  hope  that 
the  way  of  Providence  will  ultimately  be  (if  I  be  not  wanting 
to  myself)  theway  of  profit  and  advantage.  So  far  as  I  can 
at  present  judge,  I  must  leave  the  business  with  God  and  my 
brethren.  You  Avill  be  so  good  as  to  communicate  such  of  the 
particulars  as  you  may  deem  proper  (the  M'hole  w^ould  be  too 
tedious  and  uninteresting),  together  with  my  best  love  and  re- 
spects, to  all  whom  they  may  concern.  May  the  good  Lord 
Himself  choose  our  inheritance  for  us  all,  and  determine,  from 
year  to  year,  the  bounds  of  our  habitation !" 

The  next  extract  I  insert  is  valuable,  both  as  recording  the 
history  of  his  opinions,  and  as,  perhaps,  in  one  respect  applica- 
ble to  the  present  circumstances  of  the  connection.  Yet  a  can- 
did writer  is  not  noAV  able  to  account  for  the  com])arative  scar- 
city of  elaborate  and  learned  books  from  the  pens  of  AVesleyan 
ministers.    The  letter  is  addressed  to  Mr.  Marsden. 

"London,  June  24th,  1805. 
"I  agree  with  most  of  your  observations  on  the  Eclectic 
Review.     There  certainly  is  a  considerable  defect  in  point  of 
literary  ability,  and  that  in  a  degree  which  even  the  total  fail- 
ure of  Mr.  Hall's  expected  assistance,  much  as  that  fiiilure  is  to 


HIS   EARLY    MIXISTRY   IN   LONDOX.  235 

be  lamented,  can  by  no  means  sufficiently  explain.  As  to  Ar- 
minianism,  I  think  they  have  been,  on  the  whole,  as  candid  as 
could  reasonably  be  expected.  If  they  refrain  from  direct  at- 
tacks, it  is  as  much  as  should  be  required  from  a  corps  whose 
members  are  principally  avowed  Calvinists.  Since  your  letter 
was  Avritten,  they  have,  I  think,  redeemed  their  character,  with 
respect  to  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  by  their  strictures  on  Da- 
vies's  Sermon,  and  by  their  panegyric  on  Mr.  Fletcher.  The 
only  violation  of  their  professed  liberality  toward  us  occurred 
in  their  account  of  Dr.  Law's  Sermon,  and  in  their  refusal  to 
insert  the  letter  of 'An  Orthodox  Arminian,'  which  was  sent 
to  them  in  consequence  of  their  false  assertion  that  Edwards 
on  the  Will  was  never  answered.  That  '  Orthodox  Arminian' 
was  myself.  Mr.  Greatheed  expressed  to  me  great  regret  for 
the  admission  of  the  obnoxious  paragraphs,  but  was  afraid  of 
offending  his  Reviewer  by  a  formal  recantation.  As  to  their 
adverting  to  their  own  '  Avriters,'  this  seems  to  me  to  be  una- 
voidable. On  controverted  subjects,  if  they  mi;st  be  amicable, 
they,  of  course,  will  say  as  little  as  possible ;  and  on  theolog- 
ical or  literary  subjects  in  general,  we  have  very  few  writers  to 
whom  they  could  advert.  This  strikes  me  as  one  great  defect 
of  modern  Methodism.  It  makes  very  little  use  of  the  press, 
that  powerful  engine,  for  promoting  its  tenets  or  advancing  its 
interests.  That  mode  of  influencing  public  opinion,  and  of  sav- 
ing souls  from  death,  we  grossly  neglect ;  a  neglect,  however, 
which  is  one  out  of  many  evils  resulting  from  an  uneducated 
ministry.  Do  not  mistake  me:  I  am  no  friend  to  colleges  or 
academics ;  but  I  do  think  that  some  regular,  systematic  j^lan 
ought  to  be  adopted  with  respect  to  the  young  preachers  dur- 
ing their  four  years  of  probation,  which,  without  interruj^ting 
their  pulpit  labors,  Avould  make  them  more  accurately  and 
thoroughly  acquainted  Avith  divinity  as  a  science,  and  qualify 
them  for  more  extensive  and  permanent  usefulness.  On  the 
whole,  I  think  the  Eclectic  Review  deserves  patronage,  as  it  is 
the  only  work  of  the  kind  in  which  either  infidelity  or  hetero- 
doxy of  the  worst  sort  is  not  introduced,  and,  therefore,  the 
only  one  which  can  with  safety  be  recommended  to  young  peo- 
ple, or  to  readers  in  general." 

On  July  1st,  1 805,  my  father  again  writes  to  Mr.  "Wood  : 


236         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

"My  very  dear  Friexd, — Yoii  will  sec  l)y  the  inclosed 
sermon  that  I  have  been  persuaded  to  turn  autlior.  I  request 
your  acceptance  of  a  copy,  as  a  small  proof  of  my  rlffectionate 
remembrance  of  you,  and  of  my  confidence  in  your  friendly  dis- 
positions toward  me. 

"  I  think  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  sacrifice  all  my  per- 
sonal feelings  and  inclinations  by  consenting  to  come  to  Man- 
chester if  the  Conference  deem  it  proper  to  appoint  me.  This 
I  have  intimated  in  answer  to  applications  from  Birmingham, 
Blackburn,  Leeds,  Wakefield,  and  Sheffield.  I  can  now  do 
nothing  more  to  prove  the  respect  I  am  disposed  to  pay  to  the 
importunities  of  my  Manchester  friends.  May  the  Lord  Ilini- 
seli"  direct  and  decide !  To  Him  I  cheerfully  commit  my  cause. 
Mr.  Jenkins,  in  a  letter  received  from  liim  last  week,  tells  me 
that  my  call,  in  his  opinion,  is  to  Sheffield.  How  prone  we  are 
to  i)lead  Divine  authority  in  favor  of  our  OAvn  views  and  wish- 
es !  You  tell  me,  in  almost  the  same  words,  that  my  Provi- 
dential call  is  to  Manchester.  Now  '  who  shall  decide  when 
doctors  disagree?'  My  answer  is,  God  and  the  Conference, 
who  to  me,  in  this  business,  are  God's  rejn-esentatives. 

"Your  Quarterly  meeting  is,  I  suppose,  now  over.  I  am 
desirous  to  know  what  your  proceedings  were  on  the  subject 
of  petitions  to  Conference.  If  they  have  altered  their  minds 
about  me,  j^'ay  be  fiiithful,  and  inform  me  of  it.  You  will  par- 
ticularly oblige  me  if  you  will  favor  me,  l)y  return  of  post,  Avith 
all  the  details  of  what  passed  on  this  business.  It  is  of  some 
consequence  to  me  to  knoAV  Avhom,  if  I  come  to  Manchester,  I 
am  likely  to  have  for  my  fellow-laborers. 

"  Am  1  right  in  concluding,  from  the  information  I  have  re- 
ceived, that  though  the  jtrinted  Plan  frequently  rcfjuires  your 
preachers  to  offieiate,  Avhen  in  town,  thrice  on  the  J^ord's  Day, 
it  is,  however,  contrary  to  the  usual  practice,  and  will  be  nei- 
ther desired  nor  expected  of  me  ?  This  is  a  material  circum- 
stance. In  addition  to  our  own  services,  I  preached  a  third 
time  yesterday,  in  order  to  oblige  ]Mr.  Dan  Taylor,  the  General 
Baptist.  The  consequences  I  have  felt  most  of  the  night,  and 
I  am  exceedingly  Mondayish  this  morning. 

"  Has  Dr.  Alexander  returned  to  the  society  ?  I  will  trouble 
you  with  the  delivery  of  a  coj)y  of  my  sermon  to  him,  and  also 
Avith  one  for  Albiston,  and  one  for  Mr.  Clarke,  avIio,  I  hope,  Avill 


HIS   EAKLY   MINISTKY   IN   LONDON.  237 

accejjt  it  as  a  small  acknowledgment  in  rctui-n  for  his  obliging 
present  of  the  Discourse  to  the  Philological  Society." 

My  father's  first  residence  in  London  terminated  in  August, 
1805.  He  had  preached  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  times 
during  the  second  year  of  his  appointment.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  period  of  his  visit  to  Lancashire  upon  the  occasion 
of  Dr.  Percival's  decease,  he  was  absent  from  his  circuit  for  one 
Sunday  only ;  nor  did  he  leave  for  the  Conference  until  after 
the  first  Sunday  in  August.  During  the  year  he  became  in- 
creasingly engaged  in  tlie  labors  and  responsibilities  attondino- 
the  public  business  of  the  connection.  He  took  a  lively  interest 
in  the  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade.  A  club 
for  the  purchase  and  circulation  of  periodicals  and  pamphlets, 
of  which  he  was  the  founder,  familiarized  him  with  the  lighter 
literature  of  the  time.  So  frequently  as  his  avocations  Avould 
permit,  he  attended  at  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  days 
when  Pitt  and  Fox  flourished.  He  was  an  occasional  visitor, 
also,  at  the  meetings  of  the  Eclectic  Society  (see  note,  p.  183), 
which  were  held  in  the  vestry  of  St.  John's,  Bedford  Row, 
and  of  which  John  Newton,  Cecil,  Daniel  Wilson,  Pratt,  Henry 
Foster,  Samuel  Crowther,  Basil  Woodd,  Simeon,  Abdy,  Venn, 
and  Goode  (the  fiither  of  the  learned  controversiaUst  of  that 
name),  together  with  the  elder  Clayton  and  John  Goode,  of  the 
Dissenters,  Avere  members.  I  am  not  sure  whether  it  was  here, 
or  through  some  other  channel,  that  he  became  acquainted  with 
Henry  Martyn.  Of  his  happy  and  instructive  association  with 
the  fathers  and  founders  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  he 
always  spoke  in  the  most  grateful  terms.*     Lideed,  he  seems 

*  At  the  jubilee  meeting  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  held  in  184-t, 
in  the  course  of  his  speech  he  thus  expressed  himself:  "  I  am  only  pledged 
to  a  few  sentences.  The  first  of  these  must  be  to  beg  permission,  on  this 
memorable  occasion,  to  renew  the  expression  of  my  great  personal  esteem 
for  this  society.  That  esteem  is  mingled  with  no  small  measure  of  the  feel- 
ing of  gratitude.  It  is  known  to  some  here  that  a  considerable  portion  of 
my  public  life  has  been  spent  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  missions  and 
in  their  service.  So  far  as  home  operations  are  concerned,  I  have  in  that 
ser\-ice  had  unutterable  pleasure,  for  which  I  thank  God.  The  subject  of 
missions  can  not  but  be  highly  gratifying  to  every  mind  that  has  any  love 
to  our  Savior,  and  any  sense  of  the  value  of  human  souls.  It  is  true  that 
missionary  directors,  committees,  and  societies  have  often  many  jtains,  but 
they  have  also  many  joys.  I  have  had  pleasure  of  many  kinds,  of  which 
one  has  been  the  ])lcasure  of  association  with  some  of  the  best  men,  some 


238  THE   LIFE   OF  JAJ3EZ   BU^'TING. 

to  liavo  regarded  liis  temporary  sojourn  in  the  metropolis  not 
only  as  affording  liini  large  and  various  opportunities  of  useful- 
ness, but  as  a  means  of  training  his  powers  for  the  subsequent 
service  of  Methodism  iu  the  Provinces. 

It  was  shortly  before  lie  left  London  that  he  was  induced  to 
publish  one  of  the  very  few  sermons  which  he  committed  to  the 
press.  His  friend,  Mr.  13urder,  had  i)reached  the  lirst  anniver- 
sary sermon  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  at  one  of  the  Wesley- 
an  chapels,  and  my  father  delivered  the  second  at  an  Independ- 
ent meeting-house.  Its  title  was,  "  A  great  Work  described 
and  recommended ;"  its  text,  Xehemiah,  vi.,  3.  The  topic  gave 
no  scope  for  theological  discussion  or  for  impressive  appeal  to 
individuals ;  but  the  sermon,  owing,  I  conceive,  to  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  preacher  rather  than  to  any  extraordinary  merit, 
passed  through  several  editions,  and  still  commands  a  sale.  It 
combines  the  excellences  of  full  and  clear  statement,  lucid  ar- 
rangement, and  an  admirable  English  style.  I  have  been 
struck,  also,  with  its  extensive  and  accm*ate  quotation  of  au- 
thorities, so  characteristic  of  the  preacher's  miwillingness  to 
form  any  ojjinion  until  he  had  ransacked  all  sources  of  informa- 
tion, and  of  his  desire  to  obtain  for  it,  when  formed,  a  sanction 
other  than  his  own.  Its  testimony  in  favor  of  an  education  for 
the  children  of  the  poor  distinctly  and  doctrinally  religious  is 
emphatic  and  complete.  He  had  not  as  yet  formed  the  opinion 
that,  in  England,  denominational  effort  is,  upon  the  whole,  the 
best  means  of  securing  it. 

My  father's  general  position  had  now  become  one  of  imex- 
ampled  rarity.     He  had  been  engaged  in  the  mhiistry  for  six 

of  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  who  have  been  similarly  bccnpicd.  •  Bat  for 
ull  my  pleasure  in  connection  with  missionary  service  I  nm  mainly  and  es- 
sentially indebted,  nndcr  the  Providcnte  of  God,  to  the  London  Missionary 
Society.  It  was  my  f,Teat  privilego,  from  an  early  period,  to  have  the  op- 
portunity of  attending  most  of  its  meetings.  I  refer  to  those  held  in  Hab- 
erdashers' Hall,  before  Kxeter  Ilnll  was  thoupht  of,  and  to  some  meetinps 
on  a  very  small  scale  held  at  the  Castle  and  Falcon,  Alderspatc  Street. 
These  were  the  initiative,  the  preparatory  meetings.  It  wius  what  I  heard 
at  those  meetings,  and  the  statements  to  which  I  listened  from  the  lips  of 
excellent  ministers,  who,  from  time  to  time,  jircached  your  annual  sermons, 
that,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  kindled  in  my  heart  whatever  of  a  mission- 
ary Fjiirit  I  have  enjoyed.  I  therefore  tender  to  this  society,  in  my  declin- 
ing years,  the  expression  of  that  high  respect  and  gi-atitude  which  the  rec- 
ollection of  my  earlier  years  is  calculated  to  inspire." 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN    MANCHESTER.  239 

years  only,  even  if  tliose  of  liis  probation  be  included  ;  but  he 
left  the  metropolis  regarded  by  those  who  Avatched  events  as 
the  future  leader  of  his  own  Church,  and  as  its  ablest  rei)re- 
sentative  to  other  Churches  and  to  the  general  public.  The 
talents  and  acquirements  of  Adam  Clarke  had,  indeed,  secured 
for  him  a  high  position  in  the  body,  and  Avere  its  ornament  in 
the  eyes  of  those  without ;  but  he  was  already,  in  purpose  and 
preparation,  devoted  to  the  great  literary  labor  of  his  life,  and 
to  it,  ere  long,  every  thing  else  became  subsidiary.  My  father's 
vocation  was  different,  and  he  had  now  entered  ujion  it  with 
the  certainty  of  distinction  and  of  usefulness. 

What  a  strange  interruption  of  his  course  would  it  have 
been  if  the  press-gang,  which  seized  him  one  afternoon  on  his 
journey  to  preach  at  Deptford,  had  put  him  on  board  a  man- 
of-war,  and  had  given  him  a  turn  of  service  in  his  majesty's 
navy !  He  was  physically  and  morally  courageous,  and,  had 
chances  fovore(i  him,  would  have  made  an  excellent  admiral ; 
but  the  production  of  the  certificate  given  him  by  the  Salford 
Quarter  Sessions  in  IV 98  put  a  stop  to  his  promotion  after  he 
had  served  his  country  as  a  prisoner  for  some  five  or  sLx  hours. 
I  believe  that  his  most  angry  opponents,  during  a  long  and 
somewhat  stormy  hfe,  entertained  for  him,  in  their  cool  mo- 
ments, no  worse  wish  than  that  the  certificate  had  not  been 
forthcoming. 


CHAPTER  Xm. 

HIS  EARLY   MIKISTEY  IN  MANCHESTER. 

Appointment  to  the  Manchester  Circuit. — Colleagues. — James  Wood. — 
John  Reynolds. — William  Leach. — Water  Griffith.— Jabez  Bunting's  Re- 
turn to  systematic  Study. — Birth  of  his  eldest  Son. — Correspondence. — 
A  Secession  from  the  Manchester  Society. — Methodism  in  London. — The 
Conference  of  1806. — Election  as  Assistant  Secretary. — Letter  to  the 
Commissioners  of  income  Tax. — Mode  of  supporting  the  Methodist  Min- 
istry.— Thomas  Ilartwell  Home. — Periodical  INIeetings  of  the  Methodist 
Ministers. — Robert  Newton. — The  Poor  of  the  Society. — Letter  from 
Rodda.— The  Conference  of  1807. 

By  the  Conference  of  1805  my  father  was  appointed  to  the 
Manchester  Circuit,  comprising  a  district  of  country  now  di- 
vided into  the  five  circuits  in  that  city,  the  Altrincham  Circuit, 


240  THE   LIFE   or  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

and  a  ]K>rtioii  of  the  Leigh  Circuit.  Tlip  plans  ])rovided  also 
for  regular  services  ibr  the  soldiers  in  the  harraeks.  His  col- 
leagues Avere  James  Wood,  John  Reynolds,  and  William  Leach, 
the  first  being  succeeded  the  second  year  by  Walter  Gritfith. 
Of  all  these  worthies  my  notices  must  be  brief. 

James  Wood  was  born  in  1751,  commenced  his  itinerancy 
in  1773,  and  retired  from  active  service  in  1826.  He  died  in 
1840,  having  survived  five  hundred  of  his  brethren  who  had 
entered  the  ministry  subsequently  to  himself.  His  parents 
were  orthodox  Dissenters,  but  a  change  of  pastor  induced 
them  to  attend  the  parish  church,  where,  some  years  before 
Methodism  had  penetrated  the  neighborhood,  the  Gospel  was 
preached  with  much  simplicity  and  power.  It  produced  a 
strong,  though  transient  impression  on  their  son  when  a  child 
eleven  years  old.  In  his  seventeenth  year  he  became  con- 
nected with  the  Methodists,  and  was  soon  afterward  soundly 
converted.  Never  Avas  man  more  distinctly  called  to  the  oftice 
of  the  ministry.*  He  received  a  strong  impression  that  he 
must  begin  to  preach  on  a  certain  day,  and,  when  that  day 
came,  a  clear  necessity  demanded  the  eftbrt.  This  peculiar 
dealing  with  him  took  jjlacc  more  than  once,  and  he  began  to 
officiate  regularly  ;  but,  though  he  met  Avith  great  success,  he 
doubted  his  call,  and  ran  aAvay  to  a  strange  city,  where  he 
joined  the  society,  but  buried  his  talent.  Here,  he  tells,  one 
Avhom  he  had  never  seen  before,  and  Avhom  he  never  saAV  after- 
Avard,  met  him  in  the  street,  and  said  to  him,  "  Young  man, 
Avhat  are  you  doing?  You  have  fled  from  the  Avork  of  the 
Lord  :  I  Avas  Avarned  of  you  last  niglit  in  a  dream.  Go  home, 
and  preach  the  Gospel."  With  some  hesitation,  he  obeyed 
the  sinnmons,  returned  home,  and  soon  afterAvard  became  a 
traveling  preacher.  He  Avas  a  man  of  great  good  sense,  and 
his  eminently  judicious  ministry  Avas  chaiacterized  also  by 
much  tenderness.  But  he  OAved  his  high  position  in  the  con- 
nection chiefly  to  a  natural  Avorth  and  Aveight  of  character  (an 
licirloom  in  some  families)  Avhich,  im])roved  and  sanctified  by 
Divine  grace,  made  him  even  in  youth,  but  especially  Avlien  he 
had  acquired  large  knoAvledge  and  experience,  "  an  example 
of  the  believers  in  Avord,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in  spirit, 

*  Sec  nn  admirable  biopp-apliy  of  liim,  written  ))y  liis  son,  the  l.nte  Kev. 
Robert  Wood,  in  the  Weslcyan  Methodist  Magazine  for  J 812. 


niS   EARLY  MINISTRY  IN    MANCHESTER.  241 

in  faith,  in  purity."*  He  was  elected  president  in  1800,  and 
again  in  1808.  Indeed,  he  was  one  of  that  class  of  ministers 
Avhose  age,  wisdom,  sobriety  of  spirit,  gravity  of  demeanor, 
and  long,  anxious,  and  active  engagement  in  every  department 
of  connectional  labor  would  seem  to  entitle  them  to  a  monopoly 
of  that  venerable  office.  My  father  visited  him  shortly  before 
his  death,  and  heard  some  of  his  latest  expressions  of  desire 
for  "  the  conversion  of  the  families  of  Christians,"  and  that 
"  the  English  nation"  might  "  become  truly  rehgious,  and,  so, 
universally  useful."  The  last  sentence  he  was  able  to  utter 
told  how,  during  a  Aveary  old  age,  he  had  been  sustained  under 
the  privation  of  public  ordinances,  and  of  some  other  accus- 
tomed means  of  spiritual  comfort.  "  I  have  meat  to  eat  that 
the  world  knoweth  not  of." 

The  memory  of  Johx  Reyxolds  is  preserved  in  the  grateful 
recollections  of  the  Church,  and  of  a  family  unusually  large, 
but  otherwise  only  in  the  notices  of  his  decease,  and  in  the 
customary  tribiite  of  resjDect  paid  by  the  Conference.!  He 
died  in  the  ninety-second  year  of  his  age  ;  the  last,  I  believe, 
of  the  Methodist  preachers  who  wore  the  hat  which  betokens 
the  clerical  order.  In  his  case  it  covered  locks  of  glistening 
snow. 

William  Leach,  who  was  twice  my  father's  colleague,  se- 
cured the  respect  and  warm  aifection  of  all  his  fellow-laborers. 
The  story  of  his  life  is  well  told  by  one  of  his  daughters,^  and 
is  ably  supplemented  by  a  sketch  of  his  character,  by  the  Rev. 
George  Browne  Macdonald.  He  was  "  a  good  superintendent," 
in  a  higher  sense  than  is  sometimes  conveyed  by  the  use  of 
the  phrase.  He  took  care  that  those  to  whom  it  properly  be- 
longed looked  well  after  the  temporal  aflairs  of  the  societies, 
or,  in  cases  of  neglect,  provided  competent  successors ;  but  he 
never  did  their  work  for  them,  nor  fidgeted  himself,  and  har- 
assed every  body  about  him,  with  the  endless  details  of  cir- 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  referred  to  the  character  of  Mr.  Wood 
as  given  in  the  minutes  of  the  Conference,  written,  doubtless,  by  some  Min- 
ister who  knew  him  well.  He  quotes  the  very  text  which  occurred  to  me, 
who,  when  a  child,  received  my  first  impression  of  Mi\  Wood's  distinctive 
qualities. 

t  See  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine  for  1854  and  1855. 

t  Ibid,  for  1858. 

Vol.  I.— L 


242  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

cuit  management.  Jlimself  lie  gave  "continually  to  prayer 
and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word"  and  to  those  pleasant  exer- 
cises of  pastoral  visitation  and  oversight  which  are  the  special 
duties  of  the  Christian  eldership. 

AV ALTER  Griffith,  avIio  Avas,  perhaps,  while  he  lived,  of  all 
my  lather's  brethren,  his  dearest  and  most  valued  friend,  was 
born  in  Tipperary  in  1761.  He  was  convinced  of  sin  imder 
the  ministry  of  Joseph  Pilmoor,  Richard  Boardman's  compan- 
ion to  America,  He  learned  the  way  of  peace  from  Thomas 
Tlutherford ;  found  it,  and  was  admitted  upon  trial,  as  a  trav- 
eling preacher,  in  1784,  John  Crook  being  his  first  superin- 
tendent. Before  he  had  traveled  two  years,  Adam  Averell, 
then  in  deacon's  orders  at  Athlone,  but  afterward  a  useful 
Methodist  minister,  and,  later  still,  the  head  of  an  extensive  se- 
cession from  the  Irish  connection,  and  Znchariah  Worrall,  who 
labored  till  his  death  among  the  people  of  his  first  choice,  were 
both  converted  by  the  instrimientality  of  the  young  evangelist. 
Similar,  if  not  equal  results  attended  his  ministry  in  the  case 
of  the  rector  of  a  parish  in  the  neighborhood  of  Colcraine,  who 
had  the  good  sense  to  be  his  constant  hearer  on  the  week- 
nights.  Mr.  Griffith  remained  in  Ireland,  a  burning  and  a 
shining  light,  imtil  the  year  1794,  and  then  oficred  himself  for 
service  in  the  West  Indian  colonies,  but  was  detained  in  En- 
gland by  the  illness  of  his  wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  united 
about  seven  years.  She  died  in  1795.  Ho  early  secured  and 
uniformly  kept  a  chief  place  in  the  counsels  and  aifections  of 
the  English  Methodists.  In  1813  he  was  placed  at  their  head. 
He  finished  his  course  in  1S25.  With  the  constant  cheerful- 
ness and  ready  wit  which  characterize  his  nation,  he  miited 
more  happily  and  consistently  than  most  other  men,  a  godly 
Keriousness  of  speech  and  spirit;  the  whole  winning,  without 
effort  on  his  part,  or  limit  on  that  of  his  associates,  tlieir  con- 
fidence, esteem,  and  love.  In  the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform, 
his  appearance  w;is  in  the  highest  (U'gree  cornniaiuling  and  im- 
pressive, and  the  aspect  of  liis  countenance  attractive  and  se- 
rene. Even  before  time  could  do  its  office,  character  had 
fashioned  his  entire  presence  into  the  dignity  of  venerable  age. 
"His  pre;iching" — I  quote  from  the  niimites  for  IS25 — "was 
eminently  evangelical,  experinjental,  energetic,  and  fruitful," 
Its  simplicity  and  fervor  ec^ually  deserve  record.     T'robably  no 


HIS  EAKLY   MINISTRY   IN   MANCHESTER.  243 

minister  the  connection  has  yet  seen  luiderstood  more  thor- 
oughly, or  expounded  with  more  clearness  and  unction,  what 
are  conmionly  regarded  as  the  distinctive  features  of  the  the- 
ology of  Wesley.  In  his  teaching,  the  much-mistaken  doctrine 
of  assurance  was  the  simple  exegesis  of  the  saying  of  St.  John 
— that  summary  of  the  philosophy  of  religion — "  We  love  Him 
because  He  first  loved  us ;"  for  it  implies  the  knowledge  of 
His  love  to  us ;  and  this  knowledge  can  be  given  to  us  by 
none  but  His  owni  Spirit.  As  Griffith  thus  defined  the  tenet, 
he  recognized  the  privilege  it  describes  as  the  heritage  of  "  all 
saints."  Formal  statements  might  vary.  Creeds  might  per- 
plex what  they  were  intended  to  explain.  But  the  ground  of 
acceptance,  always  the  same,  and  the  sense  of  acceptance,  dif- 
fering only  in  degree,  must  be  common  to  all  who  feel  they 
love  God.  It  followed  that,  in  contending  for  the  direct  agen- 
cy of  the  blessed  Spirit  in  the  revelation  of  forgiving  mercy, 
and  for  the  creation  thereby  of  the  true  Christian  life,  divines 
of  Griffith's  school  were  led  to  study  more  closely,  and  more 
reverently  to  magnify  the  other  works  and  Avays  of  the  same 
almighty  Agent.  What  could  not  He  effect  by  such  a  mean 
upon  the  heart  and  habits  with  which  He  deigned  to  deal? 
And  was  it  not  He  also  who  had  begun  the  "good  work," 
calling,  awakening,  and  convincing  those  Avhom  He  thus  re- 
generated ?  If  so,  while,  on  the  one  hand,  it  might  fairly  be 
demanded  from  Calvinistic  theologians  that  no  limit  but  that 
of  human  infirmity  should  be  placed  upon  His  sanctifying 
grace ;  on  the  other,  an  identity  was  discovered  with  them  in 
their  opinions,  and  in  much  of  their  termmology,  as  to  the 
processes  preparatory  to  conversion.  If  they  sjiokc  more  fre- 
quently of  these  processes,  while  Methodists  were  accustomed 
to  dAvell  rather  on  the  accomplislmient  and  perfection  of  the 
change  itself,  both  Avere  agreed  as  to  the  absolute  necessity  of 
DiA-ine  influence,  and  as  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Will  Avhich 
dispenses  it. 

It  is  certain  that  my  father's  brotherly  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Griffith  during  the  period  of  their  co-pastorship  in  Manchester 
was  of  great  seiwice  to  the  former.  Joseph  Cook,  a  preacher 
stationed  at  Rochdale,  had  attacked,  Avith  more  A-iruIence  than 
ability, Wesley's  published  opinions  on  "the  Witness  of  the 
Spirit,"  and  Griffith,  Hare,  and  Bunting,  near  neighbors,  and 


244  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BL'NTING. 

devout  students  of  Scripture,  poiukTcd  deeply  the  theology  in 
Avhieh  tht'V  had  heen  trained.  Gritlith  moulded,  though  he 
<lid  not  change,  the  sentiments  of  his  two  brethren.  Mr.  Hare 
replied  to  Cook;  and  the  utmost  exactness  of  conception  and 
of  statement  was  imjieratively  needed,  in  order  to  worst  a  foe 
whose  subsequent  history  jtroved  that  a  doubt  of  the  possibil- 
ity of  any  spiritual  inlluence  lay  at  the  foundation  of  liis  sys- 
tem. It  was  at  this  time,  I  conceive,  that  my  father  ascertain- 
ed more  clearly  the  truth  and  the  relations  of  the  doctrine  in 
dispute.  Thenceforth,  if  Fletcher's  controversial  statements 
differ,  here  and  there,  a  shade  from  the  dogmatic  teachings  of 
AVesley,  Jabez  Bunting  adopted  the  latter  as  his  own  creed, 
and  preached,  with  greater  freedom  and  force  than  before,  the 
Gospel  of  the  Gracious  Father  and  of  the  Atoning  Son,  but 
also,  as  unspeakably  im])ortant  to  lapsed  and  miserable  nuui, 
the  Gos])cl  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  intimacy  formed  as  I  have  described  was  continued  and 
increased  as  the  two  friends  attained  yet  greater  maturity. 
Four  of  my  father's  children — all,  indeed,  in  whose  case  it  Avas 
possible — Avere  receiveil  by  Grifllth  into  the  Christian  disciple- 
ship  in  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  Death  oidy  interruj)ted  a 
friendship  so  close,  and  so  mutually  sweet  and  hel])ful.  Upon 
those  who  witnessed  Griffith's  last  hours,  his  "  doctrine"  drop- 
ped "  as  the  rain,"  and  his  "  speech"  distilled  "  as  the  dew." 
"Let  all  go,"  he  cried,  "but  Clirist  and  heaven."  Then,  hav- 
ing himself  partaken  of,  and  having  administered  to  those 
around  him,  the  memorials  of  his  Savior's  death,  he  calmly 
faced  his  own,  and,  body  and  soid  preserved  unto  everlasting 
life,  went  triuin))hantly  to  Paradise. 

The  relief  given  to  my  father  by  his  release  from  the  press- 
ure (jf  nu'tro])()]itan  engagements  was  very  grateful.  He  had 
cherished  large  projects  of  study  and  improvement  before  a 
short  career  in  London  taught  him  that  his  services  were  not 
to  be  confined  to  the  usual  circle  of  ministerial  usefulness. 
Sooner  or  later,  he  was  to  become  a  ]tublic  man.  Now  he 
sought  to  improve  the  short  ))eriod  of  intervening  leisure  so  as 
to  tit  himself  for  what  lay  before  him.  He  resumed,  according- 
ly, the  systematic  pursuits  Avhich  had  been  interrupted,  and  es- 
pecially that  active,  cvery-day  discharge  of  tiie  duties  of  a 
Methodist  preacher,  Avhich  is  the  best  preparative  for  the  gen- 
eral R.-rvioe  of  M.thodism. 


HIS   EARLY   illN^ISTRY  IN  MANCHESTER.  245 

Three  months  after  his  arrival  in  Manchester  lie  became  a 
father.  There  is  a  tradition  that  he  was  absent  from  the  house 
Avhen  his  eldest  son  -was  born.  On  his  return,  and  Avhen  the 
birth  -was  annoxmced  to  him,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  and  jioured 
forth  one  of  those  ])leasing  prayers  for  "which,  through  life,  he 
was  so  remarkable,  imploring,  in  particular,  that,  if  God  should 
so  will,  the  child  might  become  a  Methodist  preacher.  Then 
came  a  rush  of  patei'nal  pride  and  joy  so  great,  that  his  friend, 
Mr.  Allen,  reminds  him  that  he  had  forgotten  to  seal  the  letter 
which  took  the  good  news  to  Macclesfield.  The  first  fond 
wish  of  his  fatherly  heart  was  not  denied  to  him. 

I  can  only  glance  at  the  correspondence  which  comes  with- 
in this  period. 

In  a  circular  from  the  preachers  in  London,  with  Adam 
Clarke  at  their  head,  dated  "Xovember  30th,  1805,"  I  find 
the  first  i:)reccdeut  of  the  Methodists  presentmg,  in  one  sum, 
the  moneys  subscribed  by  them  for  purposes  of  national  be- 
nevolence. On  this  occasion  the  contributions  Avere  devoted 
to  the  Patriotic  Fmid,  raised  for  seamen  and  their  widows 
and  orphans,  in  connection  with  the  great  naval  engagements 
of  the  time. 

Mr.  Entwisle  writes  to  my  father :  "  I  fear  we  are  not  gain- 
ing ground  in  London.  I  am  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that 
there  are  so  many  irons  in  the  fire,  and  that  so  many  things 
with  which  publicity  and  show  are  connected  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  our  leading  friends,  who  are  very  active  in  douig  good, 
that  the  work  of  conversion  is  hindered  thereby.  Every  thing 
must  give  way  for  the  sake  of  great  collections,  etc.  Mr. 
Clarke  and  ]\Ir.  Benson  are  fully  of  the  same  opinion,  and  Mr. 
Clarke  is  quite  distressed  about  it." 

Mr.  Taylor,  my  father's  recent  superintendent,  thus  writes 
to  liim  from  York  on  the  occasion  of  the  birth  of  his  son :  "  He 
can  not  be  xi  more  useful  member  of  society,  nor  a  greater 
blessing  to  his  parents  than  I  Avish  him.  ]\Iay  the  God  of  Ja- 
cob bless  the  lad !  And,  if  the  Lord  shall  spare  him  to  grow 
up,  I  pray  that  he  may  occupy  the  most  holy  and  usefiil  sta- 
tion in  life.  If  you  mean  to  keep  him,  don't  sufler  hun  to  be 
a  rival  to  Christ  in  your  hearts.  Our  God  is  a  jealous  God. 
Are  not  the  words  of  Parnell  worthy  to  be  had  in  everlasting 
remembrance  ? 


246  THE   LIFE   OF  J.U3EZ   BUXTING. 

"  *  To  nil  but  thee  in  fits  he  seemed  to  po ; 
And  'twas  my  ministry  to  deal  the  blow.' 

I  am  glad  that  you  arc  so  agreeably  iixed.  I  had  not  a  doubt 
but  it  Avould  be  the  case.  You  are  iii  the  very  centre  of  your 
friends,  and  have  an  extensive  field  of  action  before  you.  I 
entertalii  the  highest  o])inion  of  your  colleagues,  and  liope  you 
■will  have  a  very  prosperous  year.  Bui  I  still  thuik  as  I  did, 
that  you  are  out  of  your  place,  and  that  you  ought  to  have 
charge  of  such  a  circuit  as  this,  or  Bursloni,  or  Nottingham. 
I  am  certain  you  have  not  sought  those  great  circuits  any  more 
than  I  have  done,  but  you  will  never  get  out  of  them  except 
you  become  as  stiff  as  an  oak  of  a  hundred  years  old.  If  my 
wife  and  I  contributed  in  the  least  degree  to  your  comfort  in 
London,  it  gives  us  real  pleasure.  I  thank  you  for  thinking 
we  did  any  thing  worthy  of  your  notice.  It  will  always  give 
me  pleasure  to  serve  you.  Kodney"  (the  old  gontloman's  dog) 
"got  safe  to  York,  and  enjoys  it  much.  He  has  a  large  yard 
to  play  in." 

In  January,  180G,  my  father  writes  to  my  mother,  then  ab- 
sent from  home  :  "  On  ]Monday  morning,  at  7  o'clock,  I  met 
the  other  preachers  at  Mr.  Broadhurst's,  in  order  to  converse 
with  Mr.  Broadhurst  and  his  friends  on  the  subject  of  the  aj)- 
prehcnded  division.  There  is  now  no  doubt  that  a  separation 
will  take  place.  Three  local  ])reaehers  and  live  leaders  liave 
already  declared  their  resolution  not  to  sul)mit  tf>  the  proposals 
of  the  preachers  and  of  the  leaders'  meetmg.  They  jjositively 
object,  among  other  things,  to  allow  that  one  of  the  preachers 
shall  have  the  ])rivilege  of  attending  and  conducting  the  North 
Street  Inmd.  On  Tliursday  night  the  business  will  be  linally 
dcciiled.  It  is  a  ])ainful  occurrence,  but  Mill,  I  doubt  not,  be 
best  upon  the  wliole,  as  a  schism  from  the  body  will  be  a  less 
evil  than  a  schism  in  it." 

The  j»assage  just  quoted  introduces  me  to  the  first  of  a  series 
of  controversies  in  which  it  was  my  lather's  lot  to  be  engaged, 
within  his  own  communion,  during  a  long  ministerial  life. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  a  l>arty  which  had  iV»nned 
itself  in  the  Manchester  Society,  under  the  aus]»ices  of  ]\Ir. 
Broadhurst  and  of  his  friends.*     This  jiarly  had  sejiaratcd  it- 

*  Vncp.H  01  and  l.*^'. 


HIS  EAllLY  MINISTRY   IN   MANCHESTER.  247 

self  in  1800,  but  had  been  again  received  into  fellowship  upon 
terms  which  checked,  and  ought  to  have  terminated,  all  irreg- 
ularities. But  "  strange  lire"  is  not  easily  put  out ;  and  the 
ministers  on  the  circuit,  gradually  ceasing  all  effort  to  extin- 
guish it,  and  regarding  division  as  inevitable,  concerned  them- 
selves chiefly  to  preserve  in  unity  and  peace  those  who  were 
not  committed  to  the  movement.  "  I  have  no  written  memo- 
randa that  I  know  of,"  says  Mr.  Jenkins,  who  had  been  super- 
intendent in  1803,  "  but  the  articles  of  agreement  I  well  remem- 
ber. They  were  the  following :  First.  No  one  should  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  baud  (so  called)  without  producing  a  society 
ticket,  or  a  note  from  an  itinerant  preacher.  (It  was  stated 
particularly  that  the  meeting,  with  respect  to  admission,  should 
be  on  the  same  footing  as  our  love-feasts.)  Secondly.  That 
an  itinerant  preacher  should  attend  and  direct  the  meeting  as 
often  as  we  could  make  it  convenient.  But  it  was  added  that 
these  regulations  should  be  introduced,  not  abruptly,  but  grad- 
ually, and  that  Mr.  Broadhurst  should,  for  two  or  three  Sun- 
days, stand  at  the  door,  and  prevent  those  only  from  going  in 
whom  he  judged  improper,  and  should  give  notice  of  the  regu- 
lations agreed  on,  and  that  then  they  should  be  enforced  with 
all  strictness.  Mr.  Broadlmrst  entered  on  his  work,  and  we 
put  North  Street  band  in  our  Sunday  plan.  Mr.  IlearnshaAV 
attended  once  or  twice,  and  Mr.  Pipe  once,  or  perhaps  twice ; 
but  the  people  were  so  exceedingly  irregular  and  ungoverna- 
ble, that,  without  saying  any  thing  to  them,  we,  concluding 
their  reformation  hopeless,  gave  them  up,  and  only  resolved  to 
keep  our  authority  in  our  own  meetings,  wliicli  wo  did.  We 
thought  that  our  attending  their  meeting  gave  it  a  counte- 
nance, and  was  an  inducement  to  many  to  go  Avho  seldom  went 
at  any  other  thne.  We  thought,  also,  that  there  was  a  danger 
of  leading  hundreds  of  our  people,  who  had  but  little  opportu- 
nity of  obtahiing  better  information,  to  think  that  the  Revival 
Band,  and  such  meetings,  Avere  a  part  of  Methodism,  seeing 
that  the  preachers  themselves  attended  and  conducted  them. 
We  therefore  changed  our  plan  of  operation  ;  not  through  any 
cowardice  or  fear  of  consequences  as  it  respected  ourselves, 
but  from  a  free  consideration  of  the  means  of  obtaining  the 
great  end,  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  God,  under  the  name 
of  Methodism.    We  thought,  first,  by  keeping  our  authority  in- 


248         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

violate  in  all  our  own  meetings ;  secondly,  letting  the  people  see, 
on  all  proper  occasions,  that  ■vve  disa]>proved  of  the  peculiari- 
ties of  the  i)arty,  and  that  they  were  contrary  to  Methodism; 
thirdly,  keeping  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  their  proper  place 
in  the  Leaders'  meeting ;  fourthly,  makuig  no  one  a  new  leader 
who  was  known  to  go  to  that  band ;  and,  lastly,  the  promo- 
tion of  our  own  bands  at  the  same  hour  as  nuich  as  possible, 
would  be  the  most  eftectual  way  of  bringing  them  to  nothing, 
without  injuring  the  society.  It  Avould  not  be  plucking  up  the 
tares,  but  draining  the  moisture  from  the  root,  and  preventing 
the  sun  from  shhiing  on  them ;  so  that  they  must,  supposmg 
the  means  to  be  continued,  ultimately,  though  not  innnediate- 
ly,  Avither  aAvay.  I  went  on  steadily  on  this  plan,  though  I  di- 
vulged my  reasons,  I  think,  to  none,  except  Mr.  Clarke,  Mr. 
Ilearnshaw,  Mr.  Wood,  and  Mr,  Redfern.  But  we  had,  every 
week,  additional  reasons  to  thmk  we  were  right,  and  that  the 
others,  by  having  their  full  liberty,  would  soon  be  infamous 
and  come  to  nothing,  while  avc  saved  all  who  were  worth  hav- 
ing. I  throAV  these  hints  together,  and  I  pray  and  trust  the 
Lord  will  direct  in  every  step  for  the  best.  Be.firm,  but  calm; 
hard  arguments  in  soft  words." 

The  dissentients  at  length  broke  out  into  open  mutiny,  and 
the  contest  became  narrowed  to  a  spccihc  issue.  Was  it  ex- 
l)edient,  or  even  right,  that  there  should  be  indiscriminate  ad- 
mission to  a  meeting  held  for  the  relation  of  Christian  experi- 
ence? The  ministers  of  the  circuit,  su])ported  by  a  very  large 
majority  of  the  leaders,  decided  this  question  in  the  negative. 
Tlie  ojjposers,  in  the  first  histance,  appeared  to  aj^prove  of  this 
conclusion ;  but  they  insisted  that  persons  appointed  by  them- 
selves, and  not  by  the  Leaders'  meeting,  should  determine  Avhat 
persons  it  was  j)roper  to  admit,  declining,  at  the  same  time,  all 
farther  discussion.  A  friendly  conference,  however,  was  sought 
and  obtained,  at  which  the  banner  of  rebellion  Avas  again  un- 
furled ;  and  it  Avas  frankly  declared  that,  in  future,  no  minister 
would  be  ])ermitted  to  conduct  the  obnoxious  meetings.  "In 
conversing  on  the  reason  of  their  tlillering  in  opinion,  one  of 
the  friends  pleaded  that  the  plan  of  conducting  the  meeting  in 
North  Street  had  been  of  long  continuance,  and,  therefore, 
ought  not  .to  be  altered;  to  Avhich  it  Avas  answered  that,  by 
the  same  mode  of  reasoning,  every  heresy  and  schism  Avhich 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY   IN  MANCHESTER.  249 

has  evei"  sprung  \ip  in  the  Christian  Church  ought  to  have  con- 
tinued to  this  day ;  that  the  point  is  not  how  long  a  thing  has 
continued,  but  whether  it  be  according  to  the  Word  of  God." 
"  It  was  ftirther  urged  that  great  good  had  been  done  in  that 
meeting,  and  tliat,  therefore,  the  plan  of  general  admission 
ought  not  to  be  altered.  To  this  it  was  answered  that,  admit- 
ting some  good  had  been  done  in  it,  yet  it  was  certain  also  that 
much  evil  had  been  done ;  that  many  persons  had  been  there- 
taught  to  believe  themselves  to  be  both  justified  and  sanctified, 
Avho,  in  fiict,  were  not  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  guilt  and 
misery,  and  that  many  well-meaning  persons  had  been  so  dis- 
gusted at  the  manner  of  conducting  the  meetings  as  to  keep 
away  from  all  the  Methodist  places  of  worshij)  in  the  town. 
It  was  added  that  neither  the  good  nor  the  evil  resulting  should 
direct  our  conduct,  but  the  Holy  Scriptures.  On  all  occasions, 
but  more  especially  in  what  respects  the  worship  of  God,  we 
must  have  recourse  '  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony.' " 

No  accommodation  of  the  disjjute  was  possible,  and  a  volun- 
tary separation  immediately  ensued.  In  some  passages  of  "  A 
Statement  of  Facts  and  Observations  relative  to  the  late  Sepa- 
ration from  the  Methodist  Society  in  Manchester,  affectionately 
addressed  to  the  members  of  that  Body  by  their  Preachers  and 
Leaders,"  my  father's  hand  may  be  traced  in  them ;  at  all  events, 
in  the  way  of  revision.  Some  extracts  are  therefore  placed  in 
the  Appendix,*  which,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  state,  Avith  admi- 
rable clearness,  some  important  principles.  Not  imjirobably, 
it  was  during  this  period  that  my  lather  fully  matured  his  own 
views  on  the  series  of  general  questions  involved  in  the  local 
dispute.  The  more  those  views  are  studied,  the  more  justly 
and  gratefully  will  future  Methodists  appreciate  them.  There 
are  two  tests  by  which  the  conduct  of  a  public  man,  in  seasons 
of  controversy,  may  be  fairly  tried.  The  one  is  the  principle 
itself  for  which  he  contends ;  the  other,  its  consistency  with 
other  principles,  to  Avhicli,  by  position  or  direct  profession,  he 
stands  honorably  j^ledged.  I  am  quite  content  that  my  father's 
conduct  in  the  present  case  shall  be  strictly  scrutinized. 

The  separatists  formed  themselves  into  a  distinct  connection. 
I  have  not  time  to  write  their  entomology.     In  1808  they  num- 
bered sixteen  congregations,  all  in  Lancashire  or  Cheshire,  with 
*  See  Appendix  K  at  the  end  of  this  rohime. 
L2 


260  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

some  twenty-eight  preachers,  and  had  found  out  "  that  a  Gos- 
pel nimistry  is  of  Divine  appointment,  Jesus  liaving  first  ap- 
2)ointed  the  apostles  to  the  important  work,  and  authorized 
them  to  set  apart  others  also  successively  to  the  end  of  time." 
Some  remnant  of  them  still  exists.  I  once  knew  a  very  good 
man  who  professed  to  belong  to  them,  and  who  was  accustom- 
ed to  preach ;  but,  beyond  all  possibility  of  mistake,  he  had 
gone  "  a  warfare  at  his  own  charges."  The  best  of  the  sect 
gradually  merged,  it  may  be  conjectured,  in  the  congregations 
soon  afterward  formed  by  a  body,  of  whom  it  is  a  real  pleasure 
to  speak  Avell,  but  to  whom  it  is  difficult  to  give  its  proper 
name.  The  connnon  appellation  of  Kanters  I,  not  less  than 
they,  should  consider  as  insultmg,  since  it  makes  i)rominent  ex- 
travagances which,  perhaps,  can  not  be  wholly  avoided  in  those 
classes  of  society  among  Avhich  cliiefly  they  labor ;  yet  the  title 
of  "  Primitive  Methodists,"  Avhich  they  have  formally  adopted, 
savors  of  injustice  to  the  mother  Church.  The  same  name  has 
been  adopted  by  those  seceders  from  the  Wesleyan  Connection 
in  Ireland  who  still  ])rofess  to  be  both  Churchmen  and  Meth- 
odists. It  speaks  Avell  for  the  moderation  of  the  great  mass  of 
John  Wesley's  followers  that  both  the  very  regular  and  the 
very  irregular  parties  who  have  left  them  thus  claim  to  be 
"  Primitive."     Probably  neither  is  right. 

Mr. Hopwood,  an  intimate  friend  of  my  father, -when  he  re- 
sided in  London,  writes  to  him  as  follows  on  a  subject  which 
excited  Adam  Clarke's  solicitude  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and 
which  is  still  one  of  anxious  concern.  "  A  few  weeks  ago,  Mr. 
Clarke,  after  conferring  Anth  his  brethren,  the  traA'cling  preach- 
ers, called  the  local  and  community*  preachers  together,  to  lay 
before  them  the  state  of  the  society  in  London,  which  he  con- 
sidered on  the  increase,  not  by  persons  awakened  and  convert- 
ed in  London,  but  rather  by  those,  ah-eady  Methodists,  coming 
to  reside  there.  Under  this  impression,  the  friends  assembled 
were  unanimous  in  determining  that  something  ought  to  be 
done  to  serve  the  city  of  London ;  and  that,  if  its  inhabitants 
Avill  not  come  to  our  chapels  to  liear  the  word  of  life,  avc  ought, 
if  possible,  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  them.  To  effect  this  is  a  sub- 
ject of  serious  consideration.     All  that  api)cars  practicable  at 

*  The  community  preaclicrs,  n,  class  unknown  by  that  name  out  of  Lon- 
don, were,  i)ropeily  speaking,  cxhortcrs. 


HIS  EAKLY   MINISTKY   IN   MANCHESTEE.  251 

present  is  earnest  prayer  to  God  to  make  our  way  prosperous, 
and  to  open  rooms,  in  eligible  parts  of  the  town,  for  prayer  and 
preaching,  as  circumstances  may  ofier.  On  this  j^lau,  Golden 
Lane,  Friars'  Moimt,  and  Drury  Lane  Schools  are  opened  for 
preaching  at  6  o'clock  on  the  Lord's-day  evening.  At  the  same 
time,  a  large  warehouse  in  Lombard  Street,  Fleet  Street,  fitted 
up  by  Mr.  Butterworth,  was  opened  as  a  preaching-room  by  Mr. 
Clarke  last  Lord's-day.  Several  other  rooms  have  been  opened 
for  the  same  purposes.  May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
crown  with  success  these  feeble  attempts !" 

Li  many  of  the  letters  written  to  my  father  from  London 
about  this  time  there  are  notices  of  the  great  attention  excited 
by  Adam  Clarke's  preaching,  and  of  the  heavenly  unction  which 
attended  it ;  but  he  used  his  authority  as  superintendent,  and, 
in  order  to  secure  time  for  his  literary  pursuits,  preached  on  the 
Sunday  and  on  two  nights  a  week  only.  His  colleagues  cheer- 
fully acquiesced  in  this  arrangement,  and  deserve,  therefore, 
some  of  the  credit  which  attaches  to  the  result  of  his  studies. 
It  is  i^leasant  also  to  read,  in  these  same  letters,  testimonies 
from  such  persons  as  Joseph  Entwisle  and  Mrs.  Mortimer  to 
the  talents  and  acceptableness  of  the  late  venerable  Jacob  Stan- 
ley, then  a  minister  of  eight  years'  standing. 

Mr.  Morley  writes  to  my  father :  "  As  to  myself,  I  am  striving 
to  be  diligent  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  I  formerly  thought, 
perhaps  I  may  make  such  improvement  as  to  be  satisfied  with 
myself.  But  I  find  myself  as  defective  as  ever.  Do  help  me 
by  your  advice  and  your  prayers.  If  I  did  not  love  my  work, 
I  should  be  unhappy  indeed,  for  I  am  fully  emj^loyed.  To  use 
our  friend  Birchinal's  expression,  I  have  but  little  'time  to 
think,'  and  yet  I  must  read ;  though,  perhaps,  if  I  read  less  and 
thought  more,  it  would  be  more  to  my  advantage.  Yesterday 
week  was  a  good  day.  It  was  the  first  day  I  had  had  wholly 
to  myself  (except  a  few  Saturdays)  since  I  have  been  in  the 
circuit.  At  Lane  End  we  are  low,  but  in  all  the  principal 
places  the  good  work  is  reviving.  I  shall  never  cease  to  be 
thankful  for  the  visit  you  paid  us  last  August ;  and  others  be- 
sides myself  have  cause  to  remember  it.  The  sermon  you 
preached  at  Newcastle  was  blessed  to  many.  A  man  who  fives 
in  a  neighboring  village,  and  who  was  much  inclined  to  drunk- 
enness and  Deism,  was  convinced  of  sin  that  morning.    In  at- 


252  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

tempting  to  give  mc  an  account  of  the  sermon,  and  of  its  effect 
npon  him,  he  said, '  Oh,  what  a  sarment  that  was  !  Every  Avord 
cut.'  JSince  then  he  has  johied  tlie  society,  and  has  preaching 
in  his  house.  Several  of  his  neighbors  are  awakened,  and  1 
hope  much  good  will  be  done." 

Father  Jeremiah  Brettell  evidently  never  forgot  George  Lu- 
kins  and  the  evil  spirits  which  dwelt  in  him.*  In  1806  he 
transmits  some  curious  matter.  "  We  have  one  little  phenome- 
non. Mrs.  Wilshaw,  in  the  Banwell  Circuit,  frequently  preach- 
es for  her  husband,  and  has  lately  visited  two  or  three  places  in 
the  circuit ;  and  she  was  very  popular  indeed.  I  might  also 
add  another,  in  the  reclaim  of  three  notorious  sinners  in  this 
circuit ;  one  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilshaw  (for 
they  both  preach  one  sermon ;  he  begins,  and  she  finishes  it), 
and  the  other  two  were  strangely  pursued  and  threatened  by 
devils  in  human  shape,  till,  in  the  issue,  they  Avere  constrained 
to  come  to  Christ.  I  have  conversed  with  each  of  them,  and 
their  account  is  uncommonly  smgular.  Happy  should  I  be  to 
see  many  more  thoroughly  frightened  from  their  sins,  and 
brought  to  feel  true  repentance." 

"  Having  seen  before,"  says  Mr.  Entwisle,  "  the  sad  conse- 
quences of  religious  dis2)utes  and  divisions  in  Christian  societies, 
I  felt  a  considerable  degree  of  anxiety  on  the  receipt  of  your 
account  of  the  breach  in  Manclicster ;  attended,  however,  with 
a  hope  that  it  would  be  best  in  the  end.  Your  printed  state- 
ment proves  to  me  that  the  division  is  not  an  evil ;  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  whole  aftair  has  been  conducted  does  hon- 
or to  the  persons  concerned,  and  aifords  proof  to  the  world 
that  even  religious  disputes  may  be  conducted  with  meekness 
and  wisdom.  Mr.  Wood  was  one  of  the  most  i)roper  men  in 
the  connection  to  settle  such  a  business.  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  the  division  has  taken  place  at  the  right  time ;  and  the  long 
forbearance  of  the  i)roachers  and  leaders,  with  the  concessions 
frequently  made  to  the  malcontents,  for  peace'  sake,  leave  them 
Avithout  excuse.  Yet  I  tliink  all  these  tilings,  taken  together, 
distinctly  mark  out  our  line  of  conduct  in  future,  i.  <?.,  to  pay  a 
sacred  regard  to  established  rule  and  order,  Avith  meek  firm- 
ness, leaving  all  consequences  to  God.  Upon  the  exercise  of 
Cln-istian  discipline  in  our  societies  our  futiire  usefulness  great- 
ly depends." 

*  Seepage  123. 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   MANCHESTER.  253 

During  the  spring  of  1806,  Mr.  Lomas,  tlie  book-steward, 
made  strenuous  efibrts,  with  the  vicAv  of  being  reheved,  at  the 
Conference,  from  his  office,  and  of  agam  engaging  in  the  usual 
duties  of  the  ministry.  Ajiplication  was  made  to  several  min- 
isters to  induce  them  to  succeed  him,  but  in  vain.  Mr.  Lomas 
therefore  corresponded  Avith  my  father  on  the  subject  of  ap- 
pointing a  layman,  and  one  was  nominated  and  requested  to 
occupy  the  position.  Eventually,  however,  Mr.  Lomas  remain- 
ed in  it.  A  subsequent  regulation  of  the  Conference  seems  to 
imply  that,  unless  the  law  be  altered,  a  mmister  only  is  ehgible. 

A  letter  addressed  by  my  father  to  my  mother  gives  some 
account  of  the  Conference  which  this  year  assembled  at  Leeds. 
"  You  will,  perhaps,  expect  some  Conference  news,  and  I  will 
try  to  scrape  together  a  few  fragments.  I  heard  Mr.  Davies, 
Mr.  Sutcliife,  and  Mr.  Clarke  in  Leeds  on  Smiday,  and  Mr. 
Clarke  also  at  Armley,  a  village  in  the  neighborhood ;  all  ex- 
cellent sermons.  It  was  a  remarkably  good  day.  I  have  sel- 
dom heard  such  preaching,  or  spent  so  profitable  and  pleasant 
a  Lord's-day.  Monday  evening,  Mr.  Benson  preached  on  '  Be 
thou  faithful  unto  death,'  etc. ;  a  very  good  sermon.  Last 
night  Mr.  Jenkuis  discoursed  on  '  the  foolishness  of  preaching,' 
He  burned  and  shone  exceedingly.  I  had  no  notion  that  he 
could  rise  so  high.  To-night  Mr.  Bradburn  is  preaching.  Our 
morning  preachers  have  been  Messrs.  Fish,  Bridgnell,  and  Hen- 
shaw.  When  the  Conference  met  on  Monday,  Mr.  Clarke  earn- 
estly begged  that,  in  choosing  a  president,  none  would  throw 
away  their  votes  (as  some  had  intimated  it  was  their  intention 
to  do)  on  him,  for  that  a  regard  to  his  health,  and  other  rea- 
sons, would  not  permit  him  to  accept  the  chair.  The  votes, 
however,  were,  Clarke,  twenty-three ;  Benson,  twelve ;  Barber, 
twelve ;  Taylor,  eight ;  and,  at  last,  Mr.  Clarke  was  literally 
dragged  into  the  office,*  which  he  fills,  on  the  whole,  very 
ably.  Dr.  Coke  was  chosen  secretary  by  a  small  majority.  Mr. 
Benson  had  nearly  superseded  him.  It  was  then  projDosed  to 
elect  an  assistant  secretary,  and,  after  an  ineffectual  struggle 
on  my  part,  I  Avas  compelled  to  take  my  seat  in  that  character. 
This  is  a  real  misfortune ;  first,  because  it  will  occupy  much  of 
my  leisure  hours,  and  materially  diminish  my  opportunities  of 
hearing,  preaching,  seeing  my  friends,  etc. ;  and,  secondly,  be- 
*  See  Dr.  Etheridge's  Life  of  Dr.  Clarke,  p.  211. 


254  THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

cause  it  will  compel  me  to  tarry  in  Leeds  till  the  very  conclu- 
sion of  the  Conference,  if  not  a  day  or  two  longer.  On  the 
other  hand,  I  secure  by  it  the  advantages  of  occupying  a  capi- 
tal station  hi  the  Conference,  close  to  the  president's  chair, 
where  I  see  and  hear  every  thing,  and  of  gaining  considerable 
information  on  our  aflfairs." 

It  does  not  appear  at  whose  instance  my  father  was  elected 
assistant  secretary.  His  capacity  for  business  must  have  be- 
come known  to  his  colleagues,  particularly  when  he  resided  in 
London.  Previous  to  this  Conference  he  had  rendered  great 
assistance  to  Dr.  Coke,  Avho  for  several  years  had  acted  as  sec- 
retary. Nor  can  my  father's  influence  be  traced  on  the  legis- 
lation of  the  Conference  during  this  session.  The  most  re- 
markable transaction  of  the  year  was  the  appointment  of  home 
missionaries  to  large  districts  of  England,  independently,  to 
some  extent,  of  the  well-tried  circuit  system ;  an  experiment 
wliich,  after  a  few  years'  trial,  did  not  answer  tlie  cxi)ectations 
formed  of  it.  An  important  act  of  discipline  was  the  trial  and 
expulsion  of  Joseph  Cook,  to  whose  heresies  I  have  before  ad- 
verted. I  can  liardly  picture  to  myself  my  father  sitting  silent 
wliile  the  conversation  on  this  topic  proceeded,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  that  he  spoke  on  the  occasion.  He  took  part  in  some 
grave  discussions,  and  particularly  in  those  on  the  question 
whether  the  letter  left  by  PaAvson  for  publication  after  his  de- 
cease should  be  published.  This  letter  was  too  general  in  its 
statements  as  to  the  existence  in  the  body,  and  especially  among 
the  preachers,  of  certain  serious  evils,  and  descended  even  to 
the  details  of  the  dress  of  the  preachers'  wives.  J\Iy  father 
proposed  that  the  circulation  of  the  document  should  be  con- 
fined to  the  preachers  themselves.  He  liad  the  good  sense  to 
see  that,  even  were  the  comjilaints  well  founded,  they  nuist  be 
rectified  within  rather  than  without  the  Avails  of  Conference. 
He  spoke  also  on  a  case  of  discipline,  and,  in  opposition  to  the 
earnest  recommendation  of  the  president,  urged  that  the  oftend- 
er  sliould  be  dismissed.  The  iniblished  minutes  of  the  year 
l^asscd  under  liis  revision  as  assistant  secretary,  the  first  of  a 
series  of  tasks  of  the  same  kind  which  he  performed,  Avith  more 
or  less  of  official  responsibility,  for  nearly  fifty  years.  Li  each 
such  instance,  every  word  and  figure  was  scrupulously  exam- 
ined ;  and  scarcelv  an  error,  hoAvever  trivial,  escaped  his  eye. 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   MANCHESTER.  255 

IIo  knew  what  heart-burnings  the  simple  misprint  of  a  name 
might  cause.  Dr.  Coke  writes  to  him  on  the  31st  of  August, 
"  Many  thanks  for  your  perfectly  exact  journals." 

Shortly  after  his  return  home,  my  father  thus  addressed  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Income  Tax : 

"  Gextlemex, — I  avail  myself  of  the  permission  which  is 
granted  in  the  printed  notices  respecting  the  duty  on  proper- 
ty, etc.,  to  make  the  return  of  my  professional  income  on  a  sep- 
arate sheet.  I  am  an  itinerant  preacher  in  the  Methodist  con- 
nection, established  by  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley.  The  socie- 
ties in  that  connection  do  not  support  their  ministers,  as  is 
usual  among  other  religious  denommations,  by  fixed  and  regu- 
lar salaries,  but  by  sundry  small  allowances,  which  difl;er  con- 
siderably in  diiferent  places,  and  which  are  varied  from  time 
to  time,  according  to  the  actual  wants  of  the  preachers,  and  in 
proportion  to  the  number  and  necessities  of  their  families.  This 
peculiarity  m  our  plan  renders  it  difficult  for  me  to  give  an  ex- 
act account  of  my  income.  But  I  hereby  declare  that,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  of  my  judgment  and  belief,  the  various  allow- 
ances which  I  have  received  for  the  support  of  myself  and  my 
fimily  during  the  year  which  began  August  5th,  1805,  on  which 
day  I  left  my  last  station  in  order  to  exercise  my  profession  at 
Manchester,  and  ending  August  5th,  180C,  did  not  amoimt  to 
more  than  eighty-three  poimds.* 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.IBEZ   BUXTING." 

The  mode  of  providing  for  the  maintenance  of  Methodist 
ministers  described  in  this  letter  will  excite  surprise  in  quar- 
ters where  it  is  not  already  understood.  It  commanded  my 
father's  most  hearty  approval.  The  principle  involved  in  it  ap- 
pears to  be  that  they  who  preach  the  Gospel  shall  "•  live"  of 
the  Gospel,  but  that  no  gain  or  profit  shall,  by  any  possibility, 
be  made  of  the  office  of  the  ministry.  Tluis  explained,  it  pro- 
vides also  for  the  subsistence  of  those  legitimately  dependent 
upon  the  minister ;  but  it  is  directly  opposed  to  all  idea  of  re- 
mmieration  for  the  service  rendered  l>y  him.     To  whatever 

*  This  reckoning  did  not  include  any  estimate  of  the  vahie  of  the  furnish- 
ed house  provided  for  him  by  the  society. 


256  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

privations  it  may  cxixise  him,  it  possesses  obvious  advantages. 
The  apostolic  rule,  rigorously  defined  and  acted  on,  is  protect- 
ed against  those  who  i)rotess  to  go  beyond  it,  but  who  tliink  a 
great  deal  more  of  Avliat  they  jiay  than  of  what  tliey  get,  and 
who  dole  out  the  same  miserable  stipend  to  tlieir  famishing 
teacher,  whatever  may  be  tlie  extent  or  peculiarity  of  his  do- 
mestic engagements.  All  kinds  of  ministerial  talent,  too,  are, 
on  this  ])lan,  fairly  considered  and  dealt  with :  the  facile  ora- 
tory of  the  idol  of  the  county  town  has  no  better  claim  than  the 
modest  learning  or  the  pastoral  diligence  which  flourishes  in 
the  country  district ;  a  consideration  of  great  imjiortance  in  the 
case  of  a  connection  of  ministers  where  the  comfort  of  each  is 
necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  and  Avherc  jealousies  so 
readily  "  spring  up  and  trouble."  The  system,  moreover,  takes 
away  some  inducements  which  tempt  unworthy  men  to  pursue 
the  sacred  calling.  Without  finding  fault,  then,  Avith  the  adop- 
tion of  other  methods  ])y  other  Christian  communities,  or  by 
separate  Churclies,  my  fatlier  clung  firmly  to  the  preservation 
among  the  INIethodists  of  the  original  theory  and  practice  of 
that  body.  His  experience  liad  shown  him  that,  Avhcrc  these 
were  relaxed  and  salaries  paid,  the  comforts  of  his  brethren 
were  abridged ;  and  he  deprecated  any  innovations  which 
should,  even  in  appearance,  widen  the  distinction  between  the 
more  popular  and  the  less  acceptable  classes  of  them.  He 
counted  it  little  less  than  treason  if  any  Methodist  minister 
sought  an  advantage  for  himself  which  in  i)rinciple  was  not  ap- 
plicable to  the  entire  fraternity. 

It  is  my  province  to  state  rather  than  to  vindicate  my  fiithcr's 
opinions  on  this  subject ;  but  there  are  two  objections  to  them 
which  ought  to  bo  met.  The  first  is  one  of  mere  detail.  If 
the  innnediate  Avants  only  of  a  minister  and  of  liis  family  are 
to  be  sujiplicd,  how  is  he  to  provide  for  "  a  rainy  day" — for  the 
failure  of  health,  for  old  age,  and  for  the  dear  ones  he  must 
one  day  leave  beliindliim?  Theoretically,  all  these  difficulties 
are  removed  by  the  financial  systc^m  of  tlie  connection.  The  in- 
valid, and  the  laborer  too  tired  to  Avork,  as  also  their  surviving 
AvidoAvs,  receive  pensions  from  the  society;  and  alloAvances  are 
made  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  their  children  until 
they  are,  or  ought  to  be,  able  to  helj:)  themselves.  We  can  not 
make  any  boast  as  to  the  amount  of  tliese  pensions.     It  is  not 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  IN    MANCHESTER.  257 

to  our  credit  that  we  do  not  so  much  as  pretend  to  find  more 
tlian  about  one  half  of  the  amount  which  we  deem  necessary 
for  the  purpose,  leaving  the  ministers  to  obtain  the  rest  from 
their  own  fund ;  this  latter  fed  chiefly  by  their  own  contribu- 
tions, saved  out  of  allowances  barely  sufticient  for  their  daily 
subsistence.  The  payment  of  some  six  or  seven  guineas  a  year 
out  of  the  scanty  pittances  (scanty  in  fact,  if  not  in  relation  to 
the  means  of  their  flocks)  allowed  to  many  of  them  in  aid- 
receiving  circuits,  is  an  injustice  and  an  anomaly,  against  which 
the  son  of  a  minister,  Avho  was  often  sorely  straitened  to  make 
ends  meet,  may  be  allowed  respectfully  to  protest.  I  have  the 
strongest  conviction  that  it  is  not  generally  known  and  under- 
stood. But  there  is  a  second  objection  to  the  principle  of 
sustentation  as  opposed  to  that  of  remuneration.  It  will  be 
asked.  Are  there  no  prizes  in  the  Methodist  connection  ?  The 
answer  is  both  negative  and  aflirmative.  There  is  no  very 
considerable  diflerence,  looking  at  every  aspect  of  the  case, 
between  the  amount  received  in  one  circuit  and  that  received 
in  another.  The  position  which  insures  the  larger  amount  of 
allowance  often  requires  a  still  larger  amount  of  expenditure. 
The  minister  at  Banff  and  the  minister  in  London  must  prac- 
tice an  equal  economy,  and  the  chances  are  that  they  may,  ere 
long,  change  places.  Yet  there  is  an  aflirmative  answer  also. 
Differances  do  exist  so  far  as  money,  and  the  advantages  it 
purchases,  are  concerned,  and  the  companionship,  and  other 
means  of  enjoyment  and  improvement  to  be  found  in  one  sta- 
tion vary  greatly  from  those  to  be  found  in  another.  Hitherto 
the  history  of  the  body  has  shown  that  these  furnish  incentives 
quite  powerful  enough  to  excite  a  healthy  competition.  But  I 
may  be  allowed  to  doubt  hoAV  far  such  excitement  is  of  any 
great  or  permanent  service.  I  admit  the  natural  and  lawful 
operation  of  inferior  motives  ;  but  they  Avill  prompt  to  little 
that  is  good  if  the  highest  motive  be  wanting,  and,  where 
that  exists,  the  absence  of  the  other  will  not  be  felt. 

And  how  cheerfully  are  all  privations  borne  !  Mr.  EntAvisle, 
now  stationed  at  Rochester,  thus  writes  to  my  lather  in  Sep- 
tember, 1806:  "During  the  five  days  I  am  at  Sheerness,  I 
preach  five  times  and  meet  three  classes,  which  contain  nearly 
half  the  society  ;  we  do  the  same  at  Rochester  ;  a  most  excel- 
lent plan,  in  my  opinion.     I  expect,  when  all  improper  persons 


258  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

are  left  out,  and  Sittingbournc  taken  from  us,  we  shall  be  re- 
duced in  numbers  to  about  three  hundred  and  forty.  How- 
ever, I  feel  such  a  degree  of  res])onsibnity  to  Gud  and  to  my 
bretliren,  and  such  a  conviction  of  the  utiUty  and  necessity  of 
the  old  Methodist  discijiline,  that  I  am  resolved,  in  the  fear  of 
God,  to  re-estabhsh  it ;  and  I  am  happy  to  find  that  this  will 
be  agreeable  to  our  leading  friends,  who  will  unite  with  me  in 
the  work.  Tliis  is  a  bare  pasture  as  to  money  matters.  They 
are  generally  working  people.  I  must  expend,  as  I  calculate, 
sixty  pounds  of  my  own  private  property  this  year.  The  Lord 
be  praised  that  I  liave  the  means  of  providing  pudding,  clothes, 
and  learning  for  my  dear  children !" 

I  can  not  omit  all  reference  to  a  letter,  couched  in  terms  of 
ardent  gratitude,  written  about  this  time  by  a  yoimg  minister 
whose  orthodoxy  had  been  impugned  at  the  preceding  Confer- 
ence, but  to  whose  higli  character  and  abiUties  my  father  had, 
in  the  time  of  need,  borne  cheerful  testimony.  It  was  some- 
times said  of  Jabez  Bunting  that  he  so  exerted  the  influence 
which  he  gradually  acquired  in  the  connection  as  occasionally 
to  depress  real  merit.  This  was  one  of  countless  cases  in 
which,  Avitliout  doubt,  he  employed  it  to  favor  great,  but,  as 
yet,  undistinguished  excellence.  The  minister  referred  to  ran 
a  long  course  of  unpojjularity  with  the  many,  but  of  signal  es- 
teem on  the  part  of  the  discerning  few.  He  was  frigid  in 
manner,  and  n()t  very  free  of  speech;  l)ut  those  who  Avere  con- 
tent to  Avait  while  his  thoughts  struggled  for  expression,  ibund 
in  his  ministrations  rich  treasures  of  evangelical  truth  and  feel- 
ing, dug  deeply  out  of  God's  own  Holy  AVord,  and  wrought 
with  artistic  skill  and  fervor.  My  father  conthuied  to  be  his 
steady  IViend,  and  never  suffered  him  to  be  gi-ieved  or  the 
conneetion  to  be  degraded  by  his  a])])ointnient  to  any  circuit 
where  his  j)eculiar  gifts  could  not  find  fit,  if  narrow  exercise. 
I  do  not  record  his  name.  Those  Avho  knew  him  Mill  know  his 
portrait. 

My  father,  when  resident  in  London,  had  formed  a  cordial 
riiendsliijt  with  a  young  man,  then  known  chiefly  to  :i  few 
Methodists  in  Lambeth,  with  whom  lie  was  united  in  Church 
fellowship,  but  Avhose  name  is  now  honorably  distinguished 
both  in  Europe  and  in  America.  Li  liis  own  department  of 
literature,  England  has  no  son  whom  she  owns  more  proudly 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN    MANCHESTER.  259 

than  Thomas  Hartwcll  Ilorne.  A  letter  addressed  to  my  fa- 
ther toward  the  close  of  1806  rmis  as  follows  :  "  With  this  I 
forward  for  your  consideration  a  copy  of  the  plan  I  adverted  to 
in  my  last  hastily-Avritten  note.  As  that  copy  has  been  lost,  I 
had  no  alternative  but  to  draAV  up  another,  de  novo^  from  my 
rough  memoranda — a  task  of  some  time  and  labor,  which  I  by 
no  means  regret,  inasmuch  as  I  have  thus  been  favored  with  an 
opportunity  of  introducing  some  additions  and  corrections, 
which,  m  my  apprehension,  render  it  as  j^erfect  as  a  plan  of 
such  a  nature  can  well  be.  You  w^ill,  perhaps,  think  my  design 
too  bold — too  comprehensive  to  be  successfully  executed  by  an 
individual  layman.  Referring  you  to  my  views  and  motives 
as  expressed  hi  my  note  of  the  25th  ultimo,  I  would  only  add 
that,  having  meditated  upon  the  subject,  and  considered  its 
various  branches,  I  have  sometimes  thought  I  had  sketched 
out  too  much  for  one  person  to  execute.  Mr.  Edwards,  who 
is  convinced  of  the  practical  utility  of  the  plan,  has,  in  fact, 
suggested  that  so  extensive  an  undertaking  might  be  achieved 
better  by  the  united  exertions  of  two  individuals.  And  who 
so  fit  as  yourself,  if  you  can  command  sufficient  time  for  such 
a  pursuit  ?  I  should  rejoice  in  such  a  co-laborer  in  a  work 
which,  I  am  persuaded,  is  calculated  to  be  of  permanent  utility 
to  the  Christian  Church.  Such  an  undertaking  demands  much 
reflection ;  but,  in  the  event  of  your  being  at  leisure  for  the 
purpose,  mutual  arrangements  might  be  made  for  carrpng  the 
design  into  effect,  which  the  lunits  of  this  will  not  allow  me 
even  to  hint  at.  Mr.  Edwards  is  of  0]nnion  that  it  would  not 
be  advisable  to  announce  it  to  the  booksellers  at  present ;  but, 
w^hen  any  final  arrangement  is  made  as  to  the  mode  of  exe- 
cuting the  proposed  edition  of  the  Bible,  he  intends  to  make 
serious  efibrts  to  bring  it  forward.  "NYhen  you  have  fully 
weighed  the  matter,  may  I  beg  the  favor  of  a  fcAV  remarks, 
addressed  to  me  either  under  cover  at  Mr.  Edwards's,  or  di- 
rectly to  me  at  Mr.  Butterworth's  ?  I  have,  m  fact,  abandoned 
the  law  (as  I  think  I  intimated  when  you  were  lately  in  to^ni), 
and  have  taken  a  confidential  appointment  with  an  estimable 
friend,  which  is  of  a  multifarious  nature,  but  to  me  it  is  cer- 
tainly most  agreeable,  and  it  leaves  me  some  hours  every  day 
for  literary  pusuits.  I  have  nothing  that  I  can  offer  worthy  of 
your  perusal.     My  time  has  of  late  been  closely  occupied  hi 


260  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

finishing  two  or  llirce  laborious  indexes  (one  ol'  tlieni  :i  Latin 
one  to  some  records  for  government).  I  have,  liowever,  much, 
very  much  cause  lor  gratitude  that  1  have  been  preserved,  with 
some  shght  exceptions,  in  health  and  strength  of  mind  and 
body,  amid  some  very  severe  domestic  vexations,  and  that  I  am 
enabled  to  encounter  severe  nocturnal  exertions.  I  have  the 
pleasure  to  inform  you  that  at  length  the  lease  has  this  evening 
been  signed  by  the  landlord  and  trustees  of  an  eligible  spot  of 
gromid  on  which  to  erect  a  chapel  for  our  Lambeth  congrega- 
tion and  society.  It  offers  a  prospect  of  extensive  usefulness. 
To-morrow  evening  the  service  will  commence  at  half  past  6, 
after  which  such  of  the  trustees  as  are  present  Avill  be  called 
upon  to  confirm  their  subscriptions,*  after  which  the  members 
and  other  friends,  of  whom  by  no  means  an  inconsiderable 
luunber  have  been  invited  by  letter,  will  be  called  upon  to 
give,  according  to  their  ability.  AVe  do  hope  and  trust  they 
will  do  liberally  toward  this  '  great  work.'  Our  Sunday-school 
consists  of  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  children,  of  whom  it 
is  intended  to  take  the  whole  to  the  cliapel  when  erected  ;  a 
more  grateful  cilice  to  teachers,  as  well  as  chilcb-en,  than  the 
taking  a  small  number  at  alternate  i)eriods  to  Laml)etii  Church, 
where  they  are  unavoidably  but  indifierently  acconnnodated. 
We  arc  encouraged  greatly  in  our  work  l)y  the  reformed  con- 
iluct  of  the  unruly,  and  the  orderly  deportment,  in  general,  of 
the  rest ;  but,  what  is  of  infinitely  greater  moment,  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  some  of  them  have  received  good  im- 
pressions to  good  purpose."! 

"♦A  Riibscription  was  entered  into  by  those  present  at  Mr.  Biittcrwortli's 
this  cvciiinfr,  whicli  nninunteil  to  X"741  r>s." 

t  Tlu-  venerable  writer  will  forgive  nie  if,  lest  I  should  break  the  eonti- 
nuitvof  my  narrative,  I  jdaee  in  a  note,  ralher  than  in  the  text,  his  own  in- 
tercstinj;  connnentnipon  a  letter  written  by  him  iifty-two  years  af^o.  In  an- 
swer to  an  ajiplication  for  leave  to  make  use  of  his  eorres])ondcnee,  ho 
writes:  "Yon  take  no  liberty  in  writiuK  to  me.  After  a  laborious  and  act- 
ive litcrarj-  career  of  sixty  years,  I  am  now,  at  the  ape  of  seventy-nine  and 
a  quarter,  oblij,'ed  to  k'vc  up  literary  cnpaRements,  and  am  thankful  that  I 
can  yet  be  of  a  little  service  to  others  as  a  sort  of  ehamlwr-coiinsel.  I  hope 
that  this  communication  may  not  be  nnacceptablo  to  you.  I  repret  that  I 
have  no  letters  of  my  revered  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  liuntinp.  To  say  the 
truth,  I  had  quite  forpotten  that  I  had  ever  consulted  him  on  literary  top- 
ics!  I  thank  you  for  communicatinp  the  three  letters,  now  returned  in  a 
sppnratc  envelope.     You  will  make  any  use  of  cither  of  them,  as  you  ihink 


JUS   EAIUA'   MINISTRY   IN   MANCHESTEH.  2G1 

In  December,  1806,  my  father  -welcomed  into  the  world  his 
second  child  and  eldest  daughter,  shortly  afterward  baptized 

proper.  The  res  angusta  domi  early  led  me  to  literature  as  an  auxiliary 
means  of  sujiport.  My  earliest  publication  was  '  A  brief  View  of  the  Neces- 
sity and  Truth  of  the  Christian  Kevelation;'  the  result  of  notes  written  in 
my  cif^htcenth  year,  and  it  was  published  in  1800,  in  my  nineteenth  year. 
I  was  then  most  anxiously  reading  to  find  out  the  truth.  Eventually  it  led 
nic,  through  Divine  grace  and  mercy,  to  the  diligent  and  prayerful  study 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  finally  to  my  undertaking  the  'Introduction  to  the 
Study'  of  them,  by  which  I  am  chietly  known,  having  been  spared  forty 
years  since  its  first  publication;  and  I  have  been  permitted,  or,  rather,  Di- 
vinely favored,  to  know  that  my  work  is  as  useful  now  as  it  ever  was.  The 
Lord  be  praised  for  this  distinguished  mercy  !  I  now  come  more  immedi- 
ately to  the  occasion  of  the  letters  which  were  written  to  Dr.  Bunting.  Pre- 
viously to  my  undertaking  the  Introduction,  I  had  sketched  a  pro'spectus  for 
an  edition  of  the  English  Bible,  in  which  the  Books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  should  be  inserted  clironologically,  and  with  a  biblical  comment- 
ary ;  that  is,  one  in  the  veiy  words  of  Scripture.  A  general  Introduction 
was  to  be  prefixed ;  which  growing  in  my  hands,  I  finally  dropped  the  idea 
of  a  biblical  commentary,  and  bent  all  my  eftbrts  to  the  '  Introduction  to  the 
Critical  Study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,'  the  first  edition  of  which  was  pub- 
lished in  June,  1818.  Toward  the  close  of  the  first  volume,  I  sketched  a 
plan  for  arranging  the  Books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  chronologic- 
ally. This  arrested  the  attention  of  a  young  and  vigorous  scholar,  the  late 
Rev.  Dr.  Townscnd,  Canon  of  Durham.  Having  been  educated  at  Christ's 
Hospital  (where  I  received  the  rudiments  of  classical  learning  between  1789 
and  1795),  Mr.  Townsend  called  upon  me,  as  an  old  'Blue,'  for  my  coun- 
sel, as  he  proposed  to  undertake  such  a  work.  Being  at  that  time  deejily 
engaged  in  combating  the  cft'ects  of  infidelity,  I  was  but  too  happy  to  give 
liim  my  best  advice,  and  also  the  materials  I  had  collected  for  an  improved 
Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels.  In  due  time  Mr.  Townsend  produced  his 
truly  valuable  Harmonies  of  the  New  and  Old  Testaments,  with  learned 
notes,  in  four  volumes  Svo :  the  whole,  I  am  persuaded,  being  much  better 
executed  than  I  could  myself  have  done  it.  And,  just  now,  the  Bible,  with 
a  strictly  biblical  commentary,  has  been  jniblished  in  three  handsome  quarto 
volumes,  with  maps,  etc.,  by  the  Messrs.  Bagster.  It  appears  to  me  most 
admirably  done.  I  do  not  know  who  the  editors  are.  No  one  person  could 
have  accomplished  such  a  work.  In  fact,  it  supersedes  every  work  which  has 
been  published,  containing  parallel  references  at  length.  The  last  time  I 
had  the  jileasurc  of  meeting  your  venerable  father  (I  think)  was  in  1853,  at 
the  Mansion  House,  where  he  had  been  respectfully  invited  to  be  present  at 
a  missionaiy  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and 
I  had  the  great  satisfaction  to  see  him  treated  with  the  regard  due  to  his 
years  and  station,  and  comfortably  seated  on  the  platform.  As  Dr.  Bunt- 
ing published  so  little,  what  think  you  of  annexing,  by  way  of  appendix  to 
your  memoirs,  the  sermons  heretofore  printed?" 


2(32  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

by  Ml'.  Griffith  as  Sarah  Maclardic.  She  was  a  \  cry  tender 
himb,  and  tlic  Good  Shcplierd  soon  c^athcrcd  her  in  His  arms. 

I  tind  iu  the  correspondence  abont  the  ck)se  of  1800  and  the 
commencement  of  1807  notices  of  the  estabUshment  by  ray  Di- 
ther of  periodical  meetings  between  himself  and  those  ministers 
iu  his  immediate  neighborhood  in  -whose  aftcctiou  and  judg- 
ment he  felt  special  confidence.  It  seems  to  have  been  his 
wish  that  they  should  converse  freely  together,  not  so  ranch 
on  Chnrch  economics  and  arrangements  as  about  the  topics 
exclusively  appropriate  to  their  vocation.  These  conferences 
w-ere  held  at  Manchester  and  at  the  adjacent  towns,  as  con- 
venience allowed,  and  were  immediately  followed  by  watch- 
night  services,  which  the  people  were  invited  to  attend.  One 
of  them  took  place  at  Rochdale  on  April  8th,  1807.  There  is 
no  account  of  the  private  conversations  of  the  assembled 
preachers,  but  it  appears  from  my  father's  text-book  that  iu 
the  evening  he  discoursed  upon  Mark,  vi.,  6  ;  a  subject  he  fre- 
quently selected  on  occasions  which  he  deemed  of  special  im- 
portance. Griffith,  Marsden,  Macdonald,  Martindale,  Ilare, 
Morley,  Timothy  C'rowther,  Townley,  Sutcliffi^  Samuel  Taylor, 
and  Denton,  ministers  from  Manchester,  Kochdale,  Halifax, 
Bury,  Blackburn,  Stockport,  Macclesfield,  and  Newcastle-un- 
der-Lyne,  were  among  iiis  auditors.  The  meetings  were  fre- 
quently repeated.  Would  that  some  such  plan  were  possible 
and  common  in  our  own  time!  The  intercourse,  so  beneficial 
to  themselves,  their  i)eopIe,  and  the  general  interests  of  Meth- 
odism, between  Methodist  muiisters,  even  in  the  same  circuit, 
will,  in  this  age  of  hurry,  inevitably  become  less  intimate  as 
the  calls  upon  ministerial  attention  nniltiply,  unless  great  pains 
be  taken  to  avoid  so  great  an  evil.  ]\Iy  father,  one  of  the  bus- 
iest men  in  the  connection,  made  it  his  study,  during  his  entire 
course,  to  familiarize  himself  wdth  those  with  whom  he  was  as- 
sociated in  the  ]>ast()ral  charge. 

"I  am  delighted,"  says  Mr.Entwisle,  "with  your  new  ])lan, 
and  long  for  an  opportunity  of  enjoying  the  Itencfit  of  it.  I 
wonder  it  has  not  been  thought  of,  and,  indeed,  become  gen- 
eral before  this  time.  It  certainly  is  calculated  to  do  much 
good  both  to  i)rcachers  and  ]>eo])le.  Conversations  on  our 
most  important  doctrines  and  discij)line,  etc.,  will  keep  alive  in 
the  minds  of  the  preachers  a  sense  of  their  importance;  and 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  IN  MANCHESTER.  263 

sermons  and  exhortations  delivered  under  such  views  and  feel- 
ings are  sure  to  be  folloM'ed  with  the  Divine  blessing.  The 
doctrines  preached  by  Messrs.  Wesley,  Grinishaw,  etc.,  in  the 
beginning,  accompanied  with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
did  wonders.  And  the  same  truths  are  now  eqally  important, 
equally  necessary,  and  may  be  equally  efficacious.  Primitive 
Methodism  I  admire ;  and,  I  think,  I  come  nearer  than  ever  to 
that  standard.  I  resolved,  when  I  came  into  Kent,  to  preach, 
in  the  most  feplicit  and  direct  manner,  the  pecidiar  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel.  By  so  doing,  my  own  soul  has  been  imusually 
blessed,  my  views  enlarged,  my  zeal  for  God  and  the  salvation 
of  souls  increased,  and  my  labors,  glory  to  God  alone !  crown- 
ed with  success  beyond  Avhat  I  have  known  before.  The  ac- 
count you  give  of  your  meeting  at  Manchester,  Oldham,  etc., 
would  lead  me  almost  to  envy  your  situation,  were  it  lawful. 
But  I  have  learned  in  every  state  to  be  content.  I  mentioned 
the  plan  to  William  Vipond  (a  man  of  a  thousand,  I  assure  you, 
both  for  jiiety  and  abilities*),  and  he  earnestly  wishes  that  we 
may  follow  your  example." 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  the  effort  was  renewed  to  engage 
my  father's  services  for  the  Sheffield  Circuit.  Mr.  Holy  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  him  on  the  subject ;  but  Robert  Newtox, 
then  on  a  visit  to  Manchester,  was  commissioned  to  advocate 
the  case  in  person.  Two  or  three  years  before  this  period  (I 
can  not  fix  the  precise  date),  my  father,  sitting  in  the  Confer- 
ence, was  pleasurably  startled  by  the  entrance  of  a  tall  young 
man,  whose  person,  singularly  handsome,  was  rendered  yet 
more  attractive  by  the  imusual  costmne  in  which  he  presented 
himself.  The  coat  lacked  the  true  canonical  cut,  which  for- 
bade the  appearance  of  an  angle ;  and  not  a  few  must  have 
contrasted  the  general  plainness  of  their  own  habiliments  "with 
the  yellow  buckskins  and  tight  top-boots  which  the  yoiing 
minister  was  the  first,  and,  I  believe,  the  last  to  exhibit  in  that 
grave  assembly.  But  in  this  guise  there  sat  down  among  them 
— quite  unconscious  that  the  garb  he  usually  wore  in  a  circuit, 
where  the  horse  did  only  less  ser\'ice  than  his  rider,  was  at  all 
pec\iUar — a  man  who  was  thereafter  to  become  pre-eminently 
famous  as  a  preacher  and  an  orator,  and  still  more  so  for  the 
warm  and  healthy  beat  of  his  large  Methodist  heart,  for  the 

*  See  Memoir  of  him  in  the  Methodist  Magazine  for  1810  and  1811. 


264  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

sjiotless  consistency  ol"  his  ministerial  character,  and  for  his 
strict  and  nice  attention  to  the  pro])rieties  of  his  peciiUar  po- 
sition. jMy  fatlier  often  told  how,  Avhen  he  first  saw  the  stran- 
ger, his  heart  yearned  after  liim,  and  liow  he  resolved  to  seek 
an  early  intimacy.  The  story  of  that  long,  laborious,  and  tri- 
umphant course  has  been  so  admirably  told,  that  any  attempt 
to  epitomize  it  would  be  presumptuous.*  It  is  closely  inter- 
■\voven  with  that  of  my  father.  Doubtless,  on  the  occasion  of 
Robert  Newton's  visit  to  Manchester,  to  secure  4iis  friend  as 
his  colleague  at  Sheffield,  their  knowledge  of  each  other  was 
increased,  and  their  mutual  affection  established  forever. 

Similar  invitations  came  from  Liverpool,  Bristol,  York, 
Leeds,  and  other  places.  It  is  observable  that  the  invitation 
from  the  town  last  named  came  from  the  trustees,  and  not 
from  the  Quarterly  meeting.  I  believe  no  reply  was  returned 
to  it.  To  the  letters  from  other  places,  as  indeed  to  the  ef- 
fective advocate  from  Sheffield,  an  answer,  almost  uniform,  was 
given,  declining  to  make  any  engagement  whatever. 

Among  other  efforts  in  the  Manchester  Circuit  was  one  to 
increase  the  fund  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  the  so- 
ciety. A  i)rinted  letter,  addressed  to  the  congregations,  was 
issued  by  the  ministers  and  stcAvards,  announcing  the  substi- 
tution of  a  quarterly  public  collection  for  that  previously  made 
monthly,  and  requesting  periodical  private  subscriptions.  The 
claims  of  the  poor  of  "  the  household  of  fiith"  were  powerful- 
ly stated:  "They  are  the  brethren  of  the  Savior  himself;  the 
living  images  of  Ilis  former  poverty."  The  exclusion  of  ]\Ieth- 
odists  from  the  sphere  of  the  operations  of  the  "  Strangers' 
Friend  Society"  was  mentioned  with  something  like  approval ; 
but  my  father  subsequently  thought,  probably  because  special 
plans  of  heli)ing  the  Methodist  poor  Avere  not  successful,  that 
this  exclusion  was  no  longer  justified.  He  considered  that 
funds  to  which  members  of  the  body  so  liberally  contributed 
should  not  be  subject  to  any  limitation  whatever  as  to  the  ob- 
jects of  the  ]nd>lic  bounty,  least  of  all  to  one  Avhich  in  appear- 
ance, if  not  in  iact,  bore  hardly  upon  those  whose  relationship 
to  us  was  so  close  and  tender. 

A  very  notorious  name  noAV  appears  in  my  narrative,  to  be 

*  "The  Life  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Newton,  D.D.,  by  Thomas  Jackson. 
London:  John  Mason." 


ins   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   MANCHESTER.  266 

dismissed  Avithout  any  observation.  I  quote  the  passage  in 
AV'liicli  it  occurs  for  tli'e  purpose  of  showing  the  interest  which 
my  father  was  already  known  to  take,  not  only  in  the  Church, 
but  in  the  world  around  Imn.  "I  have  lately  been  printing 
for  the  Princess  of  Wales,"  writes  his  friend,  Mr.  Edwards,  at 
that  time  a  well-known  publisher  in  Crane  Court,  Fleet  Street, 
"the  proceedings  and  correspondence  relative  to  the  inquiry 
into  her  conduct,  of  which  I  should  be  glad  to  send  you  a  copy, 
as  I  think  it  Avould  be  a  gratification  to  you  to  go  through  it. 
But  at  present,  at  least,  I  can  not,  as  it  is  not  to  be  published, 
notwithstanding  I  have  printed  two  editions  of  it.  It  is  an- 
8vo  of  350  pages,  and  contams  the  whole  of  the  very  heavy 
charges  against  her,  together  with  her  defense,  and  a  number 
of  letters  to  and  from  his  majesty  on  the  business,  altogether 
forming  a  very  curious  and  interesting  pamjjhlet.  I  think  she 
acts  wisely  not  to  piiblish  it,  as,  in  my  opinion,  it  would  not 
acquit  her  in  the  public  mind.  The  copies  are  very  securely 
deposited  in  the  possession  of  the  present  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  and  not  one  lias  gone  abroad.  I  have  been  offered 
large  sums  for  a  single  copy  if  I  would  part  with  one,  but  I 
have  refused  every  application.  A  copy  of  this  work  will  be 
counted  a  great  curiosity.  If  I  should  hereafter  find  myself 
free  to  give  you  a  sight  of  it,  I  shall  cheerfully  do  it,  and  shall 
consider  you  among  those  of  my  friends  whom  I  would  first 
oblige  in  this  way." 

Mr.  Hartwell  Home  again  addresses  my  father  on  April  8th, 
1807.  "So  long  a  time  has  elapsed  since  I  received  your  let- 
ter, and  the  kind  strictures  on  my  Prospectus,  that  my  memory 
will  not  inform  me  Avhether  I  have  yet  acknowledged  them. 
If  not,  I  have  to  thank  you  for  them,  and  to  say  that  the 
idea  of  giving  critical  annotations,  and  also  of  arranging  the 
Books  chronologically,  is  relinquished.  I  had  an  interview 
with  Messrs.  Cadell  and  Davies  yesterday  on  the  subject,  who 
expressed  their  approbation  of  the  outline,  and  proposed  to 
submit  it  to  a  critical  friend,  in  the  event  of  whose  approba- 
tion they  intimated  a  wish  to  treat  with  me,  so  that  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  months  some  decisiA'e  arrangements  (I 
hope)  will  be  made.  The  expense  can  not  be  less  than  i!2000, 
on  which  account  I  was  induced  primarily  to  offer  it  to  those 
booksellers  ;  and  such  is  the  wayward  fancy  of  the  public,  that 

VoL.I.— M 


266  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

the  respectability  of  the  bookseller  reflects  credit  on  the  au- 
thor or  editor.  I  can  scarcely  iind  time  for  any  recreation 
whatever,  liardly  even  the  pleasure  of  writing  so  fully  as  I 
could  wish  to  you,  my  dear  sir,  whom  we  do  hope  to  see  once 
more  settled  in  London." 

Mr.  Kodda  thus  breathes  one  of  his  latest  blessings  on  the 
cause  and  people  he  had  served  so  faithfully :  "  Does  my  dear 
friend,  on  his  knees,  ever  remember  an  old,  worn-out,  good-for- 
nothing  pilgrim  ?  If  not,  let  these  dull  hues  stir  ixp  thy  pure 
mind  by  way  of  remem'brance.  I  can  now  preach  little,  pray 
Httle ;  but  my  mind,  in  general,  is  in  a  praying  frame,  and  He 
that  reads  the  heart  will  not  cast  out  the  prayer  of  the  desti- 
tute. I  have  said  enough,  perhaps  too  much,  of  myself.  God 
has  in  wisdom  and  mercy  bestowed  a  diversity  of  gifts,  that 
every  one  of  the  hearers  may  receive  a  suitable  portion  in  duo 
season.  How  does  Ilis  work  prosper  among  and  aromid  you? 
Are  sinners  converted  and  saints  edified  ?  I  long  to  hear  of 
the  flourishing  state  of  our  Church ;  though  I  can  contribute 
so  little  to  its  prosperity,  yet  I  wish  it  good  luck.  I  must  live 
and  die  saying  of  genuine  Methodism,  '  Peace  be  within  thy 
walls,  and  prosperity  Avithin  thy  palaces!  May  salvation  be 
inscribed  on  thy  walls  and  bulwarks,  and  on  thy  gates  praise ; 
may  thy  ministers  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  clothed  with 
righteousness ;  and  may  all  the  people  put  on  the  white  linen 
of  the  saints;  may  thy  rehgious  society  ever  maintain  that 
purity  and  simplicity  of  doctrine  and  disci])line  that  have  hith- 
erto distinguished  thee  from  those  who  say  they  are  Jews,  and 
are  not,  but  are  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan ;  and  may  our  Israel 
dwell  alone,  and  not  be  reckoned  among  the  nations !  Then 
shalt  thou  be  as  the  salt  of  the  earth,  a  city  on  a  hill  that  can 
not  be  hid.'  ]\Iy  good  Avife  desires  a  kind  remembrance  to 
Mrs.  B,  and  yourself:  she  often  says  of  you  Avliat  David  did  of 
Goliath's  sword." 

jNIy  father's  first  ministry  in  Manchester  closed  Avith  the 
Conference  of  1807.  Tlie  ])ublished  miinites  of  that  assembly 
contain  evidences  of  his  anxiety  to  introduce,  gradually,  some 
changes  in  the  administration  of  the  aftairs  of  (lie  connection, 
and  to  make  the  system  more  regular  and  intelligible.  Among 
the  changes,  originating,  I  believe,  eliiefly  Avith  him,  are  rules 
providing  that  no  person  not  competent  to  the  regular  minis- 


HIS   EAKLY   MINISTKY  IN   MANCHESTER.  267 

try  should  be  employed  in  any  mission  at  home  or  aljroad ;  in- 
sisting on  the  immediate  emancipation  of  slaves  belonging  to 
any  minister  in  the  West  Indies  or  to  his  Avife ;  recognizing 
still  more  clearly  the  distinction  between  preachers  formally 
set  apart  to  the  ministry  and  those  still  upon  probation ;  re- 
quiring the  attendance  of  all  probationers  at  Conference  for 
personal  examination  ;  regulatuig  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Con- 
ference, considered  as  an  appellate  court  rather  than  a  court  of 
first  instance ;  and  providing  for  the  due  order  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  that  body.  Som'e  financial  arrangements,  also,  evident- 
ly received  his  revision.  This  year,  too,  a  prerogative  was 
recognized  as  belonging  to  the  president  which  hitherto  had 
been  exercised  as  matter  of  necessity  and  usage :  he  was  au- 
thorized to  supply,  from  the  Ust  of  probationers  approved  by 
the  Conference  for  that  purpose,  all  vacancies  in  circuits  or  mis- 
sions which  might  occur  during  the  period  of  his  office. 

During  the  two  years  of  my  father's  residence  in  Manches- 
ter he  i)reached  four  hundred  and  fifty-seven  sermons.  The 
traces  of  his  ministry  are  distinctly  perceptible  in  the  present 
flourishing  condition  of  Methodism  in  that  city.  But  from 
such  facts  as  can,  at  this  distance  of  time,  be  adduced  in  evi- 
dence, I  infer  that,  while  his  preaching  was  very  vigorous  and 
successful,  his  usefulness  was,  perhaps,  greater  in  other  depart- 
ments. Many  young  men  were  then  connected  Avith  the  soci- 
ety, some  of  them  the  friends  of  his  youth,  Avho  were  rapidly 
acquiring  wealth  and  social  influence.  To  these  his  counsels 
were,  at  such  a  period,  of  the  greatest  possible  service.  lie 
not  only  fostered  their  piety,  but  he  strongly  impressed  upon 
their  character  and  opinions  the  stamp  of  his  owm  distinctive 
excellences.  In  their  lives  of  active  and  consistent  goodness 
he  multiplied  himself;  and  in  not  a  few  of  their  children, 
whether  by  natural  or  spiritual  descent,  he  still  survives.  Man- 
chester owes  to  his  labors  much  of  that  steady  attachment  to 
Methodism  which  has  been  so  often  and  so  severely  tested, 
and  which,  considering  the  character,  habits,  and  rapid  and 
enormous  increase  of  its  population,  is  matter  of  both  surprise 
and  gratitude.  It  was  meet  that  the  place  of  his  birth  should 
be  the  scene  of  his  early  labors,  and  should  thus  preserve  their 
enduring  record. 


268  TUE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HIS   EARLV   IMINISTRY   IN"   SHEFFIELD. 

Appointment  to  the  Sheffield  Circuit. — Colleagues. — Death  of  his  infant 
Daughter. — ^Ministers'  Meetings. — The  Training  of  Candidates  for  the 
IMinistry. — Samuel  Bardsley. — The  Location  of  Ministers. — Conference 
of  1808. — Edward  Hare. — James  Daniel  Burton. — Edmund  Grindrod. — 
Nightingale's  "Portraiture  of  Methodism."  —  His  Death-bed. — The 
Teaching  of  Writing  in  Sunday-schools. — Letters  from  Griffith  and  Ilob- 
ert  Newton.  —  The  Sacraments  in  Jersey.  —  Codification.  —  Methodist 
Ministers  and  Parish  Apprentices. — The  Right  of  attending  the  Confer- 
ence.— Conference  of  1809. — Birth  of  his  second  Daughter. — Keminis- 
cences  by  Robert  Newton's  Widow. 

Two  of  my  father's  colleagues  in  tlie  Sheffield  Circuit,  to 
which  he  was  ai^pointed  by  the  Conference  of  1807,  were  men 
to  whom  he  was  already  warmly  attached ;  in  the  case  of  John 
Barber,  by  early  obhgations,  before  adverted  to ;  and  in  that 
of  Robert  Newton,  by  a  friendship  whose  least  charm  was 
novelty.  Isaac  Clayton,  also  a  co-pastor,  was,  as  I  have  al- 
ways understood,  a  modest  and  meritorious  mniister,  but  the 
popular  estimation  of  his  talents  did  not  always  obtain  for  him, 
during  his  subsequent  course,  positions  of  the  same  considera- 
tion as  that  Avhich  he  now  occupied. 

To  say  notliing  of  the  contiguity  of  Sheffield  to  Manchester 
and  to  Maccleslield,  higher  motives  induced  my  father's  grate- 
ful acceptance  of  this  appointment.  So  to  speak,  he  breathed 
his  native  air ;  for  the  bracing  Methodism  which  had  wafted 
spiritual  health  and  vigor  to  the  cottage  homes  at  IMonyash, 
took  Aving  from  the  town  where  he  noAV  resided,  and  had  fos- 
tered there  a  hardy  race  of  veterans,  of  form  and  countenance 
such  as  he  had  always  loved  to  look  upon.  The  elder  Long- 
den,  Holy,  and  Sniith — Beet,  Ilarwood,  and  IMoss,  Avere  types 
of  a  larger  class  of  Yorkshire  Metliodists ;  ])lain,  serious,  and 
steady  ;  well-to-do  in  this  world,  but  living  wliolly  for  tlie  next ; 
cordially  affi:;ctionate  to  Christ's  cause,  ministers,  and  poor,  and 
earnestly  active  in  doing  good. 

But  a  great  trouble  came  upon  liim  ere  lie  had  been  many 


UlS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN  SnEFFIELD.  269 

days  in  liis  circuit.  "  Amid  many  mercies,"  he  writes  to  liis 
mother  on  the  3d  of  September,  1807, "  we  have  also  had  some 
painful  exercises  since  we  saw  you ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  the 
occasion  of  them  is  now,  in  a  great  meas'iu-e,  removed.  Our 
dear  little  Sarah  has  had  a  violent  attack  of  erysipelas ;  but  the 
complaint  appears  to  be  subdued,  and  we  hope  she  will  soon 
be  as  well  as  usual."  Soon  afterward  he  writes  agaiii :  "  My 
DEAREST  Mother, — Two  weeks  ago  you  received,  I  suppose, 
by  Mr.  Martin,  a  letter  from  me,  informing  you  of  the  illness 
of  our  dear  little  Sarah.  I  then  hoped  that  she  would  soon  be 
better,  and  I  have  been  waiting  from  that  time  to  this  in  almost 
daily  expectation  of  being  able  to  announce  to  you  that  she 
was  out  of  danger.  But  alas !  my  expectations  were  delusive, 
and  my  hopes  in  that  respect  are  now  forever  frustrated.  It 
is  my  painful  task  to  acquaint  you  that  the  dear,  dear  girl  is  no 
more  an  inhabitant  of  this  dying  world.  She  exchanged  it  for 
that  in  which  there  is  no  more  death  this  morning  at  about 
half  past  9  o'clock.  Since  Tuesday  last  we  have  all  thought 
her  considerably  reheved,  and  no  longer  ago  than  yesterday 
were  m  high  spirits  concernmg  her.  She  appeared  to  receive 
food  with  more  appetite  than  at  any  time  since  her  seizure,  and 
the  inflammation  seemed  to  be  rapidly  subsiding.  Our  only 
remaining  fear  was  lest  a  cough,  which  had  for  several  days 
been  troublesome,  should  be  the  hooping-cough,  caught  from 
William,  and  lest  her  strength  should  sink  under  her  compli- 
cated ailments ;  yet  the  return  of  her  appetite  and  her  general 
appearance  led  us  to  indulge  better  prospects.  But  about  11 
o'clock  last  night  her  breathing  became  very  laborious,  and  we 
perceived  that  some  change  had  occurred.  She  never  closed 
her  eyes  during  the  night  but  once,  and  that  only  for  a  short 
time,  and  about  9  o'clock  the  symptoms  of  mimediate  dissolu- 
tion were  very  evident.  Her  departure  was  in  the  easiest  and 
gentlest  manner  we  could  desire,  the  Lord  being  merciful  unto 
us ;  and,  at  the  hour  before  named,  she  took  her  flight  to 
heaven,  without  a  sigh  or  a  struggle  of  any  kind.  '  Of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  In  our  present  disconsolate  situation, 
under  this  visitation  of  Providence,  you  ■s\all  excuse  a  long  let- 
ter. I  wish  you  were  here,  to  weep  with  those  that  weep.  I 
hope  you,  and  all  our  dear  friends,  will  pray  that  our  heavy 
afiliction  may  be  sanctified,  and  that  avc  may  be  graciously  sup- 


270  11  IK    LIFK   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

]>orted  under  it.  I  have  not  spirits  for  writing  more  tlian  Is 
necessary  .at  present,  and  will,  therefore,  thank  you  to  send  this 
letter  to  Mr.  Wood,  3Ir.  ]\lars(len,  and  Mr.  (irithth.  Their 
friendship  for  us  we  know  to  be  such  as  will  interest  them  in 
the  intelligence  of  an  event  to  us  so  mournful,  and  will  secure 
for  us  their  sympathy  and  their  prayers." 

On  the  29th  of  September  he  again  writes  to  his  mother  on 
the  same  subject :  "  Blessed  be  God,  we  are  as  well  as  we  can 
expect  to  be  after  our  melancholy  bereavement.  My  dear  wife 
was,  as  you  suppose,  deeply  aliected  by  a  loss  to  her  so  pecid- 
iarly  afflictive ;  but,  through  mercy,  has  in  some  measure  re- 
covered her  serenity,  and  is  striving  with  me  to  say,  '  The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  aAvay ;  blessed  be  the  name  of 
the  Lord !'  But,  though  we  do  endeavor  to  submit  ourselves 
imto  God,  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  strange  feeling  of 
desolation  wliich  our  minds  still  do,  and  must  long  experience. 
I  trust  the  dispensation  Avill  do  us  nuu-h  good.  Our  dear  child 
was  buried  on  Wednesday  morning,  the  ir)ili  instant,  in  the 
groiuul  adjoining  to  our  new  chapel,  Avhicli  is  ojijtosite  to  the 
house  we  now  live  in,  and  will  be  .<Jtill  nu)re  contiguous  to  that 
which  it  is  intended  to  build  for  our  use.  We  feel  a  mournful 
pleasure  in  the  idea  that  lier  mortal  remains  lie  so  near  to  us. 
Her  mother  and  mysell",  with  Mr.  Barlier,  Mr.  Newton,  Mr. 
Clayton,  Mrs.  Newton,  and  Mrs.  Holy,  attended  them  to  the 
grave.  Wisliing  to  have  some  memorial  of  her  which  might 
perpetuate  to  our  minds  the  recollection  of  her  countenance, 
and  enable  us  still  to  realize  her,  in  some  degree,  as  one  of  our 
iamily  circle,  \vc  employed  an  artist  to  mtike  a  drawing  of  lier 
after  her  death.  We  hope  it  will  l)e,  when  finished,  a  tolera- 
ble, tl)ough  not  a  perfect  likeness.  I  need  make  no  aj)ology  to 
you  for  these  circumstantial  details.  You  will  feel  an  interest 
in  little  )»articuhirs,  the  ri'lation  of  wliich  wouM  seem  tedious 
and  foolish  to  others." 

Very  long  and  sadly  did  his  mind  dwell  on  this  bereavement. 
Three  months  alter  it  had  occurred,  he  s.ays,  in  a  letter  to  my 
mother,  then  absent  from  home:  "I  am,  I  thank  God,  well  in 
health,  but  very  dull.  I  sit  and  look  at  Sherry's  picture  till  I 
am  miserable  ibr  want  ol"some  conversation  to  divert  me  irom 
the  melancholy  recollections  which  it  suggests."  A  little  shoe 
the  l);ibf  had  worn  was  the  constant  coni]>anion  of  my  inotlier'.s 


HIS   EAKLY   MINISTRY  IN   SHEFFIELD.  271 

solitary  liours.  I  heliove  iny  father  took  possession  of  the  otli- 
cr.  There  lies  before  me,  in  his  handwriting,  a  sheet  contain- 
ing thirty-nine  epitaphs,  transcribed  from  various  authors,  and 
one  or  two  of  his  own  composition,  out  of  which  he  selected 
that  Avhich  Avas  placed  upon  her  tomb-stone.  It  was  the  text 
he  had  quoted  in  the  letter  to  his  mother  announcing  the  de- 
cease. The  first  thought  awakened  by  his  sorrow  gave  him 
the  most  lasting  comfort. 

To  Mr.  Wood  he  writes:  "A  great  part  of  our  melancholy 
history  since  we  left  Manchester  you  have  already  learned  from 
the  letters  which  I  addressed  to  my  mother,  "We  liave  had 
many  mercies,  it  is  true,  Avhich  it  would  be  a  crying  sin  to  for- 
get ;  but  the  loss  of  our  dear  little  girl  damps  all  our  earthly 
joys,  and  will  long  be  felt  by  us  as  a  most  painful  bereavement. 
It  is  impossil)le  to  describe  the  sensations  of  desolation  wliich 
wc  feel.  But  I  hope  we  do  not  murmur,  though  Ave  sorrow; 
and  that  Divine  grace  enables  us  not  to  faint.  My  dear  wife 
Avas  much  obliged  to  Mrs.  Wood  for  her  friendly  letter,  AA'hich 
she  purposes  soon  to  ansAA'er.  She  is  as  Avell  as  can  be  expect- 
ed, and  unites  Avith  me  in  best  loA'e  to  you  both,  and  in  grate- 
ful acknoAvlcdgments  of  many  kind  offices  received  from  you 
during  our  residence  in  Manchester,  Avhich  Ave  shall  ahvays  re- 
member, and  wish  Ave  had  any  adequate  means  of  requiting. 
But  AA'hat  you  have  done  you  did  for  the  Lord's  sake,  and  Ave 
pray  that  He  may  bless  you  and  yours  AA'ith  all  the  mercies  of 
the  NcAV  Covenant.  Wc  have  the  prospect  of  being  A'ery  com- 
fortable in  our  ncAv  situation.  The  circuit  seems  to  be  as  agi*ee- 
able  as  most,  and  the  people  are  disposed  to  shoAv  us  much 
kindness.  I  an\  almost  entirely  at  home,  and  need  sleep  out 
only  tAVO  nights  in  eight  Avecks.  I  am  exceedingly  pleased 
Avith  all  my  colleagues,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  more  and  more 
satisfied  that  I  have  a  commission  from  God  to  the  people  of 
these  parts." 

A  letter  to  my  mother  gives  an  insight  into  my  father's 
dcA'otional  habits  and  domestic  affairs,  as  avcU  as  into  the  state 
of  public  feeling  at  this  period.  INIy  grandlather  Maclardie 
had  giA'en  my  mother  some  fcAv  hundred  pounds  on  the  occa- 
sion of  her  man-iage.  "  Poor !  Iler  case  is  really  de- 
serving of  commiseration.  I  Avish  she  may  get  the  poAver  and 
comfort  of  true  religion  before  she  go  hence  to  be  no  more 


272  THE   LIFK   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

peon.     T  lliiiik  yon  slionlil  talk  freely  rnul  jihiinly  to  her  on  tliis 

most  important  otall  subjucts.     I  tliou^lit seemed  to  be 

somewhat  seriously  impressed  by  liis  late  aeeident.  Is  it  so? 
If  it  be,  you  will  doubtless  improve  tlic  occasion.  I  liave  been 
more  than  usually  led  to  thuik  of  him,  and  to  pray  for  liim, 
Mith  reference  to  his  best  interests.  Tiie  i)urchase  of  the  house 
involves  so  matiy  considerations,4hat  it  will  be  better,  as  I  ho])e 
so  shortly  to  be  on  the  spot,  where  I  can  learn  all  particulars, 
to  defer  till  then  the  farther  discussion  of  the  matter.  To  be 
sure,  the  state  of  i)ublic  aflairs  is  such  as  almost  unavoidal)ly 
to  sucjgest  some  doubts  as  to  the  stal)ility  of  the  govei-nmenl 
securities.  But  whether  change  would  increase  security  is 
another  question ;  and  buildings  create  a  great  deal  of  trouble." 

Ministers'  meetings,  such  as  had  been  held  in  the  Manchester 
District,  were  introduced  by  my  father  into  Sheflield.  I  find 
notes  of  his  j)reparations  for  one  of  them.  "  Ju>lilication  and 
forgiveness  are  s\iionymous  terms.  Publican's  case.  It  im- 
plies favor  and  acceptance.  'Acce])ted  in  the  Beloved.'  Just- 
ification implies  God  is  at  peace  with  us.  Is  MIic  love  of  God 
she<I  abroad,'  etc.,  synonymous  a\  ith  the  Spirit's  witness? 
Leaders;  temporal  concerns  placed  a  good  deal  under  llieir  in- 
fluence. People;  visits  to  ])ersons  excluded;  regular  visita- 
tions ;  renewal  of  tickets.  Entire  dedication  to  the  ministry. 
Opening  new  classes.  Meeting  of  societies.  Visiting  the  sick. 
Prayer-meetings.     Beat  the  head  of  every  thing." 

Griflith  cfnnnu'nccd  a  fr('(|uont  corresjjondcnce  with  his  ab- 
sent friend,  and  a  letter  from  him  refers  to  the  general  subject 
of  the  last  paragraph. 

" Miinrhcstcr,  February  lOlh,  1S08. 
"We  held  our  meeting  on  Monday  last.  Besidt's  the  jireach- 
crs  in  Manchester,  we  had  the  l)rethren  from  Stockport,  Old-- 
h.am,  Rochdale,  Bury,  and  Leigh,  and  a  Mr.  Coate  from  Ameri- 
ca, whom  you  know.  j\Ir.  Thomas  Taylor  was  not  Avith  us, 
owing  to  tlie  want  of  a  conveyaiu'c,  the  canal  being  frozen  up. 
Our  meeting  was  a  good  one,  uj)on  the  Avhole.  ]Mr.  Coate 
ju-eached,  and  was  followed  by  Messrs.  Shadfbrd,  Crosby,  Hare, 
and  IJobert  Miller.  The  next  meeting  is  fixed  for  Ai)ril  Gth, 
at  Bochdale:  ]Mr,  Thomas  Taylor,  or  Mr.  IMarsden  to  preach. 
The  subject  for  conversation  to  be  tlie  Atonement.     The  sub- 


UIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  273 

ject  of  the  sermon  not  mentioned.  Since  our  conversation,  I 
liave  tliouglit  a  good  d6al  upon  the  subject  of  faith,  and  u\)Ou 
tlie  confusion  of  our  ideas  respecting  it.  Docs  not  this  confu- 
sion arise  from  our  too  frequently  confounding  taith,  as  it  is 
'  the  substance  of  tilings  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not 
seen,'  -svitli  faith  as  it  is  required  of  us,  in  order  to  our  receiv- 
ing the  forgiveness  of  sins,  or  any  other  Gospel  blessing? 
That  these  are  closely  connected  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but 
are  they  not,  at  the  same  time,  distinct  ?  And  is  it  not  owing 
to  Avant  of  attention  to  this  distinction  that  Ave  sometimes  ap- 
pear to  contradict  each  other,  and  even  ourselves,  by  asserting 
at  one  time  that  it  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  at  another  that  it  is 
our  own  work  ?  Give  me  your  thoughts  at  large  ui)on  this 
subject  when  you  have  a  little  leisure.  I  would  only  add  that 
Mr,  Wesley  seems  to  have  considered  it  in  the  former  sense 
principally  in  his  sermon  on  Hebrews,  xii.,  0,  and  in  his  two 
sermons  on  Hebrews,  xi,,  1,  and  that  Mr.  Fletcher  seems  to 
consider  it  principally  in  the  latter  sense  in  his  Essay  on  Truth. 
In  the  former  of  these  senses,  must  we  not  consider  it  as  the 
gift  of  God  entirely  ?  And  in  the  latter,  must  we  not  consid- 
er it  as  our  exercise  of  the  gift  of  God,  under  the  direction  and 
influence  of  the  Giver  ?  You  see  I  think  of  you  in  all  knotty 
cases.  I  often  wish  for  you,  especially  when  there  is  any  thing 
upon  my  mind  respecting  doctrines  which  I  consider  of  import- 
ance. But  these  vile  bodies  will  not  suffer  tis  to  move  from 
Manchester  to  Sheffield,  or  from  Sheffield  to  Manchester,  as 
rapidly  as  our  thoughts  can  fly.  Could  Adam's  body,  think 
you,  move  with  this  rapidity  ?" 

An  extensive  correspondence  was  maintained  during  the 
current  Methodistical  year  between  my  father  and  other  lead- 
ing ministers  of  the  connection.  Two  subjects  are  introduced 
in  many  of  the  letters,  and  evidently  occupied  the  gravest 
thoughts  of  those  who  sought  most  solicitously  the  welfare  of 
Methodism, 

My  father  had  already  set  his  heart  upon  accomi)lishing  an 
object  which  it  took  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  carry — the  sys- 
tematic trahiing  of  approved  candidates  for  the  Methodist  min- 
istry. I  have  spoken  of  the  opinions  he  cherished  respecting 
that  ministry  as  deriving  its  authority  from  Christ,  the  Head 
•  ^        M2 


274  THE   LTFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

of  the  Churdi,  and  its  authentication  from  the  Chnrcli  itself. 
He  had  a  deep  and  humbling  sense  of  the  responsibilities  of  the 
pastoral  office,  and,  for  that  very  reason,  of  the  prerogatives 
which,  of  necessity,  and  by  strict  Scriptural  injunction,  belong 
to  it.  In  this  view,  the  [)rerogativt's  were  the  consequence  of 
the  resj)ousibility,  and  tliey  wlio  denied  the  one  made  light  of 
the  other.  I  must  again  deal  with  tliis  subject,  and,  as  I  hope, 
in  a  spirit  which  shall  give  no  just  occasion  of  offense.  But 
here  I  have  a  particular  })urpose.  Prerogative  raised  the  ques- 
tion of  fitness.  Many  intelligent  ministers  had,  at  the  period 
to  which  I  am  now  referring,  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
claims  which  clashed  so  strongly  with  some  popular  systems  of 
Church  government,  as  well  as  with  the  prejudices  of  the  irre- 
ligious multitude,  must  be  sustained  and  strengthened,  not 
only  by  sound  argument,  and  by  high  personal  character,  but 
by  the  well-recognized  competency  of  the  i)ersous  who  pre- 
ferred them.  Assuming,  then,  as  he  had  a  right  to  assimie, 
the  piety  and  special  designation  of  the  men  who,  after  suc- 
cessive trials,  had  been  "counted  faithful,"  and  were  about  to 
be  put  into  the  ministry,  my  lather  was  deeply  anxious  to  re- 
move any  degree  of  incapacity  for  the  office.  Gross  and  man- 
ifest ignorance,  or  careless  mdisposition  to  sacred  studies,  or 
the  vanity  which  too  often  attends  them  both,  was  proof  of 
moral  as  well  as  of  intellectual  disqualification  in  cases  where 
the  opportunity  of  improvement  had  been  afforded.  To  give 
that  opjiortuuity,  therefore,  was  a  clear  duty,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  because  it  supplied  a  new  and  safe  test  of  character. 
He  knew,'too,  the  mind  of  his  contemporaries,  and  how  many 
of  them  dejdored  their  own  deiii'iencies ;  sometimes  blushing 
in  the  presence  of  their  jieojde;  and  still  oftener  weei)ing  be- 
fore God.  Nor  could  he  mingle  freely  with  some  of  them  in 
social  and  official  life,  or  listen  to  their  public  exercises  with- 
out a  strong  and  almost  indignant  sense  of  the  jirivation  of 
whicli  tliey  had  been  the  subjects.  How  many  a  genius  might 
liavc  l)een  trained  and  fostered — how  many  an  understanding 
taught  and  discii^lined — if  due  facilities  had  been  timely  fur- 
nished !  The  histories  of  the  early  ])reacher8,  sometimes  in- 
stanced in  ojiposition  to  these  views,  in  no  degree  lessened 
their  force.  The  call  was  ])eculiar,  and  so  were  the  prepara- 
tions;  I  speak  not  only  of  s])iritual  aids,  but  of  the  diligent 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY   IN  SHEFFIELD.  275 

and  prayerful  pursuit  of  "knowledge.  Wesley  was  an  accom- 
l)]ished  scholar,  and  the  ^•ery  ardor  of  his  zeal  made  him  anx- 
ious that  tlic  agents  he  employed  should  not  lack  any  clement 
of  success.  "We  have  his  own  testimony  as  to  the  result  of 
his  repeated  exhortations  to  them.  In  his  "Letter  to  Di*. 
Rutherforth,"*  in  answer  to  an  allegation  that  many  of  his 
preachers  were  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  that  the  Scriptures 
were  not  Avritten  in  their  mother  tongue,  he  Avrites,  "  Indeed 
they  are  not.  Whoever  gave  you  that  information  abused 
your  credulity :  most  of  the  traveling  preachers  in  connection 
with  me  arc  not  ignorant  men.  As  I  observed  before,  they 
know  all  which  they  profess  to  know.  The  languages  they  do 
not  profess  to  know  ;  yet  some  of  them  understand  them  well. 
Philosopliy  they  do  not  i)rofess  to  know  ;  yet  some  of  them 
tolerably  understand  this  also.  They  miderstaud  both  one  and 
the  other  better  than  great  part  of  my  pupils  at  the  University 
did,  and  yet  these  Avere  not  inferior  to  their  fellow-collegians 
of  the  same  standing  (which  I  could  not  but  know,  having 
daily  intercourse  with  all  the  under-graduates,  either  as  Greek 
lecturer  or  moderator),  nor  were  these  inferior  to  the  imder- 
graduates  of  other  colleges."f    We  have  also  more  precise  test- 

*  Works,  vol.  xiv.,  p.  3C4,  3G5. 

f  Sec  how  he  retorts  upon  a  similar  antagonist  on  another  occasion: 
"  The  ground  of  this  offense  is  as  follows  :  Some  of  those  who  now  preach 
are  unlearned.  This  objection  might  have  been  spared  by  many  of  those 
who  have  frequently  made  it,  because  they  arc  unlearned  loo,  though  ac- 
counted otherwise.  They  have  not  themselves  the  very  thing  they  require 
in  others.  Men  in  general  are  under  a  great  mistake  with  regard  to  what 
is  called  the  learned  world.  They  do  not  know — they  can  not  easily  im- 
agine— how  little  learning  there  is  among  them.  I  do  not  speak  of  abstnise 
learning,  but  of  what  all  divines,  at  least  of  any  note,  arc  supposed  to  have, 
namely,  the  knowledge  of  the  tongues,  at  least  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew, 
and  of  the  common  arts  and  sciences.  How  few  men  of  learning,  so  called, 
understand  Hebrew,  even  so  far  as  to  read  a  plain  chapter  of  Genesis  !  Nay, 
how  few  understand  Greek  !  Make  an  easy  experiment.  Desire  that  grave 
man  who  is  urging  this  objection  only  to  tell  you  the  English  of  the  first 
paragraph  that  occurs  in  one  of  Plato's  Dialogues.  I  am  afraid  we  may  go 
fartJier  still.  How  few  understand  Latin !  Give  one  of  them  an  Epistle 
of  Tully,  and  see  how  readily  he  will  explain  it  without  his  dictionary  !  If 
he  can  hobble  through  that,  it  is  odds  but  a  Georgic  in  Virgil  or  a  Satire  of 
Persius  will  set  him  fast.  And  with  regard  to  the  arts  and  sciences,  how 
few  understand  so  much  as  the  general  ])rinciples  of  logic  !  Can  one  in  ten 
of  the  clergy  (0  grief  of  heart  I),  or  of  the  Masters  of  Arts  in  either  Univer- 


276  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

imonies  as  to  Hopper,  avIio  "regarded  it  a  duty  Avhich  he  csvcd 
to  himself,  to  God,  and  to  the  Church,  to  acquire  some  knowl- 
edge of  those  languages  in  which  the  Scriptures  were  original- 
ly written;"  Cownley,  who  Avas  said  to  have  traveled  "histo- 
ry's enormous  round,"  and  liad  mastered  most  of  tlie  books  on 
divinity, in  the  English  language;  Olivers,  an  acute  and  prac- 
ticed logician,  and  a  poet  whose  strains  adorn  and  elevate  the 
hymnology  of  every  nation  which  speaks  the  English  tongue ; 
Mason,  well  versed  in  the  history  of  the  world  and  of  tlie 
Church,  and  in  anatomy,  medicine,  and  natural  history,  and 
whose  "  botanical  collections  would  have  done  credit  to  the  first 
museum  in  Europe ;"  Story,  to  whose  multifjirious  acquisitions 
I  have  before  alluded ;  Black,  Avho  also  studied  the  Scriptures 
in  the  originals  ;  Thomas  Taylor,  who  devoted  his  time  before 
breakfast  wholly  to  his  llebrcAV  Bible,  "  comparing  the  text 
wnth  the  Latin  and  English  translations,  consulting  also  the 
Septuagint,  and,  at  other  times  of  the  day,  studied  the  Greek 
Testament,  the  Latin  authors,  divinity,  history,  and  ])hiloso- 
phy ;"  and  Walsh,  who,  "if  he  was  questioned  concerning  any 
Hebrew  word  in  tlie  Old,  or  any  Greek  word  in  the  New  Test- 
ament," "  would  tell,  after  a  little  ]iause,  not  only  how  often  tlic 
one  or  the  other  occurred  in  the  Bible,  b«t  also  what  it  meant 
in  every  ]>lace." 

"Wesley  himself  entertained  thoughts  of  providing  for  a  want 
which  was  felt  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  connection,  but 
Adam  Chu-ke  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  form  a  distinct 
project.  In  1806  he  consulted  with  his  brethren  in  the  London 
Circuit,  and  a  ]tai)cr  on  the  subject  was  prepared,  which  Mas 
read  to  the  Conference  of  that  year,  and  to  several  eminent 
lajTTien.  The  Conference  referred  it,  for  consideration,  to  the 
body  of  the  preachers,  assembled  at  their  next  anmial  District 

sity,  when  an  aiK»i"cnt  is  bronplit,  tell  you  oven  the  mood  and  fipure  where- 
in it  is  proposed,  or  corai)lete  an  eiithynionic  ?  Tc  rli.aj)s  they  do  not  so 
much  as  understand  the  term  :  supply  the  j.rcniise  which  is  wanting,  in  or- 
der to  make  it  a  full  eateporical  syllonisni.  Can  one  in  ten  of  then)  demon- 
strate ft  ]irol)lem  or  tlieorem  in  Euclid's  Elements,  or  define  the  common 
terms  used  in  metaphysics,  or  intdlicildy  explain  the  first  principles  of  it? 
Wliy,  then,  will  tlicy  pretend  to  that  learning  which  they  are  conscious  to 
themselves  thev  have  not?  nay,  and  censure  otliers  who  have  it  not,  and  do 
ilot  pretend  to'  it?  Where  arc  sincerity  and  candor  fled?" — WorLs,  vol, 
viji.,  p.  210. 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY   IX   SHEFFIELD.  277 

meetings ;  but  little  more  Avas  heard  of  it.  "  About  a  gram- 
mar-school or  acadeuiy,"  writes  Alexander  Suter  in  his  pri\ate 
meuaoranda  of  the  Conference  of  1800,  "Butterworth  sent  a 
letter  on  the  subject,  in  Avhicli  are  very  indifferent  reflections. 
Bradburu  said, '  It  is  a  grand  trick  of  the  devil.' "     And  again, 

in  1808,  " farther  believes  that  Clarke,  -when  he  Avent  to 

London,  never  intended  to  leave  it ;  his  friends  labored  for  that. 
Hence  the  plan  of  education  was  set  on  foot,  at  the  head  of 
Avhich  he  was  placed."  "  Brother  Bardsley*  told  us  that,  when 
he  read  of  the  titles,  etc.,"  given  to  Adam  Clarke, "  his  heart 
sank  within  him,  and  that  he  believed  Clarke  would  leave  us : 
God  showed  it  him  before  last  Conference ;  for  he  dreamed  that 
he  saw  him  in  a  Cathedral,  in  a  prebend's  stall,  and  that  he 
looked  with  great  coolness  on  Brother  Bardsley,  etc."  These- 
specimens  will  show  how  thoroughly  the  horror  of  a  "  carnal 
ministry"  prevented  some  of  the  most  excellent  of  the  preach- 
ers from  sympathizing  with  the  proposed  plan,  and  how  Clarke 
himself  was  thought  capable  of  having  been  prompted  in  its 
conception  by  unworthy  motives. 

When  my  father's  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  subject, 
he  entertained  a  strong  objection  to  the  idea  of  a  college  or  an 
academy,  and  was  anxious  to  devise  some  other  means  of  meet- 
ing the  emergency.  lie  became  gradually,  but  firmly  convinced 
that  a  collegiate  institution  was  necessary.  His  opinions,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  misunderstood.  He  never  contended  that  it 
Avould  be  Avise  to  attempt  the  systematic  education  of  every 
man  Avhom  the  grace  and  providence  of  God  had  called  into 

*  Bardsley,  a  man  of  larpc  and  fleshy  frame,  vras,  as  frequently  happens 
in  such  cases,  a  child  in  simplicity  and  sweetness.  In  1818,  after  fifty  years' 
service,  he  and  his  friend  Francis  "Wripley,  a  sturdy  veteran  who  had"  kno^\Ti 
him  from  his  youth  up  (each,  in  his  turn,  the  oldest  preacher  in  the  connec- 
tion), left  the  Conference  at  Leeds  with  the  intention  of  traveling  together 
some  portion  of  the  way  to  their  respective  circuits.  Arriving  at  a  country 
inn,  they  took  tea,  and  then  sat  in  the  door-way  watching  the  departing 
light.  Their  conversation  was  heard  by  none  but  themselves ;  but  an  au- 
tumn evening — the  full  harvest  gathered  in  by  the  tired  laborer,  and  the 
welcome  rest  at  hand — must  have  reminded  them  of  their  own  course  well- 
nigh  spent,  and  of  the  repose  so  needed  and  so  near.  Bardsley  felt  ill,  and 
pi-oposed  to  retire  for  the  night.  His  friend  went  with  him  toward  his  bed- 
room. Bardsley's  strength  failed,  and  he  sat  down  on  the  topmost  step ; 
then  thi'ew  his  arm  round  Wriglet's  neck,  saying,  "  Jly  dear,  I  must  die," 
and  "was  not,  for  God  took  liim." 


278  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

tlic  Methodist  ministry.  There  were  exceptions  to  the  general 
— the  almost  nnivorsal  nilo.  Some  ])l.'mts  sicken  in  a  hot-house, 
however  iniM  tlie  lonipcrature.  Far  distant  be  tlie  day  'svlien 
the  rigid  enforcement  of  a  wise  and  necessary  system  shall  ei- 
ther exclude  Irom  the  Christian  muiistry,  or  cramp  and  cripple, 
when  engaged  in  it,  any  man  whose  original  constitution  of 
nund  or  body,  or  settled  habits  of  thought  or  action,  make  such 
a  training  inex])edient !  Humanly  speaking,  the  preachers  to 
tiie  masses  must  still,  to  a  large  extent,  spring  from  them.  Let 
us  not  shrink  from  the  testimony  that  God  has  always  chosen 
many  of  His  best  instruments  from  the  humbler  classes  of  so- 
ciety ;  and  that,  while  He  imparts  the  needful  gifts,  it  is  for  the 
Church  to  cherish  and  mature  them,  with  a  constant  reference 
to  His  design  in  giving  them,  and  to  their  various  nature  and 
adaptation  for  use.  Cidture  will,  in  most  cases,  im])rovc  both 
the  flower  and  the  fruit ;  but  if  culture  would  weaken  or  de- 
stroy the  plant,  let  it  grow  wild.  Let  it  blossom  in  some  dis- 
tant desert,  or  brighten  some  wilderness  at  home,  and  the  true 
lover  of  all  God's  Morks  Avill  revel  in  its  beauty.  And  I  have 
seen  wild-flowers  which  showed  well  in  terraced  gardens,  l)e- 
neath  the  shade  of  stately  palaces,  and  by  the  side  of  all  that 
art  could  do  to  deck  the  i)ampered  earth  with  delicate  or  gor- 
geous hues. 

My  father  watched  the  indications  of  opinion  and  of  feeling, 
but  for  a  long  time  he  met  with  very  little  to  encourage  his 
wishes.  The  prudent  policy  of  waiting  for  general  concur- 
rence in  a  measure,  many  of  the  objections  to  which  ju-oceeded 
from  a  <leep  solicitude  {o  attain  the  same  object,  at  last  received 
its  reward,  and  an  institution,  such  as  he  desired  to  see,  was 
j>ermanently  established. 

A  second  subject  of  anxiety  .about  this  jieriod  was  the  ]K'r- 
manent  locatif)n  of  ministers  who  had  before  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  itinerancy.  The  ])rinciple  of  location,  in  some 
eases,  was,  indeed,  already  established.  Tlie  literary  undertak- 
ings of  the  connection  nupiired  agents  with  sjjccial  qualifica- 
tions, and,  when  such  agents  were  scarce,  tlu're  was  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  give  them  a  iixed  )»osition.  So  nmst  it  always  be, 
as  my  fatlier,  a  zealous  a<lv()cate  for  the  itinerancy,  was  in 
course  of  time  convinced.  The  system  creates  its  own  excep- 
tions.   If  the  evangelist  must  also  be  the  j>astor,  neither  he  nor 


IlLS   EAKLY    MINISTRY   IN   SUEFFIELD.  279 

liis  people  "will  allow  his  time  and  energies  to  be  occupied  very 
largely  in  duties  in  which  they  have  no  special  and  immediate 
concern,  however  great  may  be  their  counectional  interest. 
Men,  therefore,  Avho  undertake  these  general  de])artments  of 
labor,  must  be  exclusively  devoted  to  them ;  and  if,  after  trial, 
peculiar  iitness  be  ascertained,  the  advantages  of  original  apti- 
tude and  of  acquired  experience  must  never  be  sacrificed  to  any 
considerations  of  routine,  still  less  to  any  feelings  of  jealousy. 
As  departments  extend,  the  truth  of  these  observations  has  be- 
come increasingly  apparent.  But  a  serious  evil  threatened  the 
connection  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing.  Adam  Clarke's 
was  not  the  only  case  in  which  a  minister  of  great  talents  and 
influence  showed  symptoms  of  impatience  with  the  weary  de- 
tails of  itinerant  life,  and,  without  any  very  clearly  stated  ex- 
cuse, on  the  ground  of  failing  health  or  of  other  obvious  inca- 
pacity, sought  a  station,  if  not  of  greater  ease,  yet  certainly  of 
more  freedom  and  quiet.  The  steady  laborers  trembled  at 
these  precedents,  and  the  mischief  Avas  peremptorily  stopped. 
Clarke,  indeed,  imder  circumstances  Avhich  were  so  pecuUar  that 
it  is  scarcely  possible  to  anticipate  their  recurrence,  retamed  a 
certain  standing  on  the  list  of  efficient  ministers  after  he  had 
ceased  to  travel,  but  I  am  mistaken  if  the  latter  pages  of  his 
life  are  read  Avith  as  much  pleasure  as  the  earlier  portion  of  the 
story.  Many,  who  listened  to  him  Avith  delight  on  the  Sab- 
bath, ill  brooked  his  appearance  on  the  folio Aving  morning  at  the 
Surrey  Institution,  more  like  a  servant  to  the  lecturer  of  the  day 
than  a  Methodist  preacher  and  a  great  biblical  scholar.  The 
feeling  among  the  ministers,  too,  Avas  one  of  sincere  regret.  One 
ancient  man,  Avho  had  never  heard  of  Rymer's  Medera,  records 
in  his  journal  his  horror  of  a  Methodist  preacher  giA'ing  his 
days  and  nights  to  "  Rhyme's  JPhcedra."  Possibly  this  notice 
of  these  circumstances  has  not  any  particidar  present  interest, 
but  it  is  Avell  to  know  the  ditfieulties  through  Avhich  our  fathers 
passed,  and  the  sjiirit  in  Avhich  they  met  them.  Let  no  man 
hope  to  command  the  confidence  or  to  sway  the  counsels  of  the 
Methodist  connection  unless,  in  one  fomi  or  other,  strictly  itin- 
erant, or  strictly  serving  the  true  and  only  objects  of  the  itin- 
erancy, he  share  the  labors,  trials,  privations,  sympathies,  and 
rewards  of  every  other  minister  of  the  body. 

My  father  Avrites  to  liis  friend  Mr.  Wood  m  IMarch,  1808: 


280  THE   LIFE   OF   JABEZ   BUNTING. 

"  Now  that  we  are  more  accustomed  to  this  place,  and  to  the 
people  and  their  maimers,  we  feel  comfortahle,  and  prohahly 
should  he  very  hai)py  could  we  entirely  divest  ourselves  of 
those  gloomy  recollections  of  our  domestic  loss,  which  will  of- 
ficiously mingle  with  all  our  enjoyments,  especially  while  we 
continue  to  he  so  conversant  with  the  scenes  where  that  loss 
was  first  so  acutely  felt.  The  society  at  large  we  think  more 
deeply  pious  than  any  we  have  before  seen,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  Avhat  I  hardly  expected,  more  free,  as  a  whole,  than  most 
others  from  the  extravagances  and  follies  of  enthusiasm.  I  feel 
a  high  degree  of  pastoral  aflectiou  and  esteem  for  them.  '  The 
best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us.'  We  arc  now  busy  in  the  quar- 
terly visitation,  and  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  a  great 
mcrease,  both  of  numbers  and  of  piety,  in  various  parts  of  the 
circuit." 

My  father  accepted  an  invitation  to  remain  in  the  circuit  dur- 
ing a  second  year,  and,  in  the  first  draft  of  the  stations,  his  name 
appeared  accorduigly,  with  Mr.  Myles  for  his  new  superintend- 
ent. Bradburn  was  put  down  elsewhere ;  but  his  eccentricities 
still  eclipsed  his  virtues,  aiul  a  vigorous  opposition  was  made 
to  the  appohitment.  It  was  therefore  changed  for  Sheifield. 
Then,  and  for  the  only  time  during  his  entire  course,  my  father 
interfered  decisively  as  to  his  OAvn  station,  and,  without  raising 
any  public  discussion,  conveyed  to  preachers  of  influence  in  the 
Conference  his  resolute  determination  not  to  take  the  cure  of 
souls  in  conjunction  with  any  minister  in  whose  uniform  and 
manifest  consistency  of  character  and  of  demeanor  he  was  un- 
able, for  any  reason,  to  ])lace  implicit  confidence.  Stockport 
Avas  assigned  to  him ;  and,  having  easily  succeeded  in  inducing 
my  mother  to  sacrifice  every  consideration  of  personal  conven- 
ience to  that  of  his  usefulness  and  honor,  he  fully  expected  to 
laboi-  in  that  town.  But  the  people  at  Sheffield  most  pathetic- 
ally and  efiV'Ctually  remonstrated,  and  my  father  returned  to 
them,  with  Myles,  Edward  Hare,  .James  Daniel  Burton,  and 
Edmund  Grindrod  as  his  colleagues. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  my  father  did  not  take  any  very 
prominent  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Conference  in  question. 
He  seems  to  have  dei)ended  for  influence  upon  private  sugges- 
tions to  the  princii)al  ministers  of  the  body.  For  these,  their 
frefiucnt  consullnlinns  of  his  o)>inioT)  fiiniislu'd  many  opportu- 


i 


Ills  EARLY   MINISTRY  IN   SHEFFIELT).  281 

nitics.  The  legislation  of  the  year  supi^lied  improvements 
which,  doubtless,  he  assisted  to  originate.  Fimds  for  the  relief 
of  embarrassed  chapels  (confined,  however,  to  the  several  dis- 
tricts in  which  such  funds  might  be  established),  and  an  addi- 
tional school  for  the  education  of  the  ministers'  children,  were 
the  two  chief  projects  of  the  time.  The  latter  resulted,  some 
years  afterward,  in  the  establishment  of  the  institution  at  Wood- 
house  Grove,  near  Leeds.  The  former  was  ultimately  matured 
into  the  present  very  admirable  and  effective  connectional  jjlan. 
Between  a  conmion  effort  for  relief  and  exertions  limited  to 
particular  districts,  there  could  be  Httle  difficulty  in  deciding, 
since  the  united  strength  of  the  body  can  always  work  with  far 
greater  power  and  precision  than  can  the  strength  of  the  mem- 
bers separately.  Times  have  not  changed  as  to  methods  of 
relief,  but,  as  to  purposes  of  increase  and  of  enlargement  it  is  a 
question  demanding  serious  attention  whether,  in  the  cases  of 
the  metropolis  and  of  other  densely  populated  places,  the  gen- 
eral fund  ought  not  to  be  supplemented  by  societies  contem- 
plating local  objects  only.  My  fatlier  Avas  of  opinion  that  Lon- 
don, especially,  and  its  suburbs,  with  their  crying  necessities, 
and  vrith  doors  thrown  wide  open  to  Wesleyan  agencies,  had 
lone:  claimed  the  self-sacrificuag  liberalities  of  those  who  are 
privileged  to  reside  in  it. 

The  hmit  to  Avhich  this  volume  must  bo  confined  already 
warns  me  that  any  fiirther  notices  of  my  father's  colleagues 
must  be  very  brief.  Yet  I  can  not  be  quite  silent  as  to  Hare, 
Grindrod,  and  Burton,  with  whom  he  now  for  the  first  time 
became  closely  connected. 

I  have  already  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  public  services 
of  EdWxVRD  Hare,  a  man  of  great  intellectual  vigor,  a  soimd 
and  able  preacher,  a  ready  and  practiced  writer,  and  altogether 
one  of  the  principal  worthies  of  the  denomination  which  claims 
him  as  its  own.  Placed  in  very  early  life  under  the  tuition  of 
Joseph  Milner,  of  Hull,  he  left  school  for  the  sea,  and  served 
his  apprenticeship  in  the  Mediterranean  trade.  On  his  return 
from  a  voyage,  and  during  a  season  of  extraordinary  rehgious 
influence  he  was  converted  to  God.  He  began  to  preach  on 
shipboard,  and  in  foreign  ports,  Avhere  the  vessel  chanced  to  lie. 
Twice  in  the  course  of  one  voyage  taken  prisoner  by  the  French, 
he  landed,  after  his  second  release,  on  the  coast  of  Cornwall, 


282  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

ami  walked  the  journey  home,  a  distance  of  two  Inindred  and 
lit'ty  niik's,  with  httle  otlicr  sustenance  than  bread  and  water. 
He*  abandoned  a  seafaring  life,  listened  to  the  silent  voice  which 
called  him  to  the  ministry,  and  gave  himself  to  study  and  to 
prayer.  Benson  was  attracted  by  his  piety  and  talents,  and,  a 
temporary  vacancy  occurring  in  the  York  Circuit,  sent  him  to 
iill  it.  After  labormg  tAvo  years  he  was  stationed  in  London, 
and  there  Benson,  finding  that  the  youth  still  retained  some 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  the  Greek,  acquired  when  a  child, 
took  him  under  his  own  training,  and  thus  conferred  upon  him 
a  lasting  advantage.  He  labored  wdth  great  acceptance  and 
success  for  nearly  twenty  years.  A  fuller  memorial  of  his 
cliaracter  and  course,  and  the  touchmg  story  of  his  early  de- 
cline and  blessed  end,  may  be  read  in  the  biography  prefixed 
to  his  Pulpit  Remains,  enriched  by  his  wife's  judicious  and 
tender  rccofd  of  his  many  domestic  virtues. 

His  valuable  contributions  to  the  theology  of  Methodism 
"•a\-e  large  promise  of  what  was  to  be  expected  from  him  had 
his  life  and  literary  labors  been  prolonged,  and  will  well  repay 
the  perusal  of  modern  students.  "For,"  writes  his  widow, 
"  lie  was  of  an  intrq)id  si)irit,  ingenuous,  and  disuiterested.  His 
sennons  were  not  only  compact  in  themselves,  but  connected 
pne  with  another,  so  that  every  one  who,  Avith  a  clear  under- 
derstanding  and  a  retentive  memory,  attended  his  ministry 
during  his  station  on  a  circuit,  might  discern  in  his  preaching  a 
well-digested  and  wisely-arranged  body  of  divinity."  Might 
not  his  example,  in  this  rcsjiect,  be  more  generally  followed, 
and  to  great  advantage  ?  Perhaps  it  is  not  Aery  often  that 
Wesleyan  co-pastors  can,  like  Edmondsou  and  Treftry  at  Roch- 
ester, arrange  for  united  courses  of  systematic  teaching ;  but 
less  of  ignorance,  and  of  indifference  to  theological  science,  and 
to  the  ix'iiefits  which  it  secures,  would  exist  in  our  <'ongrega- 
tions,  if  individual  ministers  could  be  induced  to  declare  "  the 
wliole  counsel  of  God,"  not  desultorily  and  as  by  chance,  but 
on  some  regular  and  coni])rehensive  plan.  If  a  common  scheme 
of  preaching  could  be  a<l<)i)ted,  one  of  the  great  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  Methodist  system  luiglit  be  materially  strength- 
ened; for  Avhy  should  not  the  completeness  and  solidity  su])- 
l>osed  to  attach  to  a  permanent  ministry  be  secured,  without 
pacrifu'ing  the  constant  freshness  and  healthy  excitement  at- 
tending a  fri'(|uent  change  (jf  ministers':' 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN  SHEFFIELD.  283 

My  father  and  Mr.  Hare  were  closely  attached  to  each  other, 
and  becnnic  constant  correspondents  ;  and  the  deep  sympathy 
and  kmdncss  felt  by  tlie  survivor  were  strongly  manifested 
to  his  friend  as  he  drew  near  the  close  of  life,  and,  after  his 
death,  to  his  widow  and  children.  In  hiin  Methodism  lost  its 
ablest  controversialist ;  but  it  was  found  that,  when  his  hand 
no  longer  plied  the  pen,  fewer  occasions  arose  for  its  employ- 
ment. So  iar  as  my  father's  influence  extended,  literary  dis- 
cussions Avith  "  them  that  are  without"  were,  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, avoided ;  and,  during  seasons  of  internal  dissension,  a 
thousand  swords  leaped  from,  their  scabbards  to  defend  the 
constitution  against  all  assailants. 

James  Daniel  Burton,  of  the  family  of  that  name  to  which 
I  have  before  alluded,*  was  awakened  as,  on  his  return  from  a 
surreptitious  visit  to  the  theatre,  he  met  the  bearers  of  a  corpse 
exposed  to  public  view.  His  position-  in  life  and  the  delicacy 
of  his  training  did  not  prevent  his  hearty  consecration  of  himself 
to  the  Methodist  itinerancy.  He  was  an  animated,  pleasing^ 
and  impressive  preacher,  and  a  prudent  and  conscientious  shep- 
herd of  the  flock,  gladly  availing  himself,  in  the  latter  capacity, 
of  the  means  of  liberality  placed  at  his  disposal.  After  laboring 
diHgently  for  ten  years  his  strength  was  spent,  and  in  about 
two  years  more  he  finished  his  course.  I  think  of  Samuel 
Pearce,  of  Birmingham,  when  I  read  the  account  of  his  regrets 
and  hopes  as  he  felt  that  his  work  on  earth  Avas  done,  and 
Avaited  for  the  day  when  the  rest  of  death  should  also  end,  and 
the  ceaseless  service  of  a  new  and  pei'fect  life  begin.  "  I  now 
consider  death,"  he  Avrites,  "as  a  friendly  messenger,  that  tells 
me  I  must  go  to  ray  future  home  ;  as  tlie  herald  that  proclaims 
my  release  from  this  prison-house  of  clay ;  as  the  instrument 
that  breaks  tlie  shell  of  mortality,  and  lets  out  my  soul  to  take 
her  wing  through  the  ethereal  heavens,  till  she  reaches  the 
celestial  mansion  prepared  for  her,  and  mingles  with  saints  and 
angels.  I  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ ;  with  Him  I 
love  above  all  creatures ;  Avith  Him  avIio  loved  me  beyond  all 
parallel,  all  claim,  all  praise ;  who  hath  redeemed  me  by  His 
blood,  canceled  all  my  sins,  rencAved  me  in  the  spirit  of  my 
mind,  sustained  me  Avith  the  bread  of  life,  and  saved  me  from 
a  thousand  snares.     Oh,  hoAV  I  could  enlarge  upon  His  bounty ! 

Page  no. 


284  THE   1,1  rE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

Yet  I  should  fail  lo  Ull  the  mensuro  of  His  love.  All  I  ooiiM 
say  would  be  but  as  au  atom  to  the  globe,  a  point  in  the  com- 
pass, a  ray  of  light  in  the  full  blaze  of  day.  Oh,  my  beloved 
wife,  my  bosom  friend,  the  desire  of  my  eyes,  and  the  choice 
of  my  lieart ! — oh,  my  children,  tender  in  age,  and  passing 
through  a  world  of  sin,  and  trouble,  and  difficulty,  must  I  leave 
you?  Must  I  see  you  no  more  till  you,  hke  me,  have  passed 
the  stream  of  Jordan  ?  Yes,  most  probably  I  must  soon  be 
parted  from  you.  But,  Margaret,  do  I  not  leave  you  among 
friends  Avho  will  use  every  means  to  comfort  you  ?  Do  I  not 
leave  you  and  our  little  ones  under  the  especial  care'  and  pro- 
tection of  heaven  ?  Many  happy  years  I  hoi)ed  to  spend  with 
you  on  earth  ;  many  plans  of  future  usefulness  I  hoj)ed  to  exe- 
cute. I  was  laboring  hard  to  prepare  a  work  which,  while 
profitable  to  myself,  I  thought  would  be  bciu-ficial  to  others ; 
but  l)y  death  the  purposes  of  my  heart  are  broken  off.  I  do 
not  on  this  account  complain,  because  God  can  inspire  others 
■vTith  the  same  views  and  purposes  better  qualified  to  accom- 
2)lisli  them,  if  necessary  ;  and  if  not  necessary,  it  is  better  they 
continue  miaccoinplishe*!." 

The  particulars  of  Edmuxd  Gri>'drod's  life  and  services 
have  been  recorded  by  Dr.  Hannah,*  and  are  fresh  in  the  rec- 
ollection of  modern  Methodists.  He  Avas  one  of  those  men 
whose  merit  is  but  slowly  recognized,  and  never  so  clearly  as 
when  readier  talents  are  of  little  use.  The  massivcness  of  his 
good  sense  gave  it  certain  i)icturesque  air  to  an  intellect  not 
otherwise  furnishing  any  remarkable  object  of  study,  while  the 
strength  and  steadiness  of  his  character  never  failed  to  justify 
the  coiifideiu-e  of  his  friends,  and  to  command  the  respect  of 
his  <>])p()neiits.  Not  one  oi'  my  father's  coiitein]>()i'aries  was 
more  thoroughly  imbued  with  his  i»rincij»les  and  feelings,  or  in 
seasons  of  anxiety  and  conflict  rendered  him  more  zealous  and 
efl^ectivc!  aid.  So  thoroughly  were  their  relations  miderstood, 
that  some,  who  durst  not  encounter  the  one,  were  not  unwill- 
ing to  taunt  the  other  with  servility  of  si)irit,  and  with  copy- 
ing, more  closely  than  was  consistent  Avith  individual  symi)a- 
thies  and  oi)inions,  tliose  of  the  master-mind  to  which  he  owed 
his  training.  My  father  knew  the  value  of  his  friend,  and,  as 
in  other  cases,  never  permitted  either  folly  or  faction  to  de- 
*  Weslcynn  Methodist  Mngnzinc,  1840. 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN  SHEFFIELD.  285 

prive  him  of  a  hearty  and  well-trusted  fellow-laborer  in  the  one 
work  of  his  life.  Grindrod's  Avorth,  when  lie  was  gone,  was 
tried  by  the  best  of  all  tests — the  generally  admitted  want,  in 
seasons  of  embarrassment  and  of  peril,  of  his  judicious  coun- 
sels, calm  temperament,  accurate  information,  and  unbounded 
love  of  Methodism.  His  "  Compendium  of  the  Laws  and  Reg- 
ulations of  Wesleyan  Methodism"  is  by  far  the  best  guide  yet 
l)ul)lished  to  the  administration  of  the  system,  and  the  reposi- 
tory of  the  most  correct  and  best  classified  information  for  the 
use  of  general  inquirers. 

The  corresjiondence  of  the  year  1808-1809  was  very  volu- 
minous, suggestmg  some  topics  which  my  limits  again  warn  me 
to  avoid.  Many  subjects  occupied  the  attention  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  connection.  It  is  very  evident  that  a  spirit  of  rest- 
lessness, if  not  of  dissatisfaction  and  distrust,  was  somewhat 
extensively  prevalent  among  them.  I  confine  myself  to  those 
subjects  Avhich  are  connected  with  my  father's  indi\idual  his- 
tory and  opinions. 

Joseph  Nightingale,  author  of  the  "  Portraiture  of  Method- 
ism," gave  no  little  trouble  at  this  time.  His  book  excited 
considerable  attention.  Gurncy,  afterward  Baron  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, confidentially  told  some  leading  Methodists  that  its  ef- 
fect upon  the  men  with  whom  he' mixed  at  the  bar  and  in  gen- 
eral society  was  exceedingly  disparaging  to  the  character  of 
the  connection.  Opponents  highly  lauded  it ;  and  it  Avas  felt 
that  the  blow  had  been  aimed  with  much  dexterity.  The 
"  Xew  Annual  Register,"  on  the  other  hand,  reviewed  the 
book  with  great  severity,  introducing  some  allusions  to  the 
writer's  personal  history,  which,  however  true,  were  by  no 
means  flattermg.  Nightingale  commenced  legal  proceedings, 
and  recovered  damages ;  he  then  threatened  the  publishers  of 
the  "  Eclectic  Review,"  in  which  Dr.  Mason  Good  had  Avritten 
a  condemnatory  article,  and  of  the  "Methodist  Magazine," 
which,  of  course,  had  concurred  in  the  censure.  Benson  Avas 
seriously  frightened ;  not  so  much  so,  howcA-er,  as  Samuel  Tay- 
lor, a  mmister  of  great  excellence  and  simplicity,  to  whom  some 
of  the  statements  Avere  not  indistinctly  traced.  Parkcn,  the 
editor  of  the  "Eclectic,"  corresponded  Avith  my  father,  and  the 
latter  took  a  journey  to  IVIacclesfield  for  the  pm-pose  of  obtain- 
ing cA-idence  of  facts  Avhich  he  kncAV  had  been  correctly  stated. 


286  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

and  wliich  ^v^'^c  required  for  the  purposes  of  the  defense.  Ul- 
timately tlie  artair  was  (piieted  ^vith<)ut  fartlier  exjtosure  of 
XiLrhtiniiale,  or  annoyanci-  to  l*arki'ii,  IJeilson,  or  Taylor. 

One  nit^ht,  about  fifteen  years  afterward,  my  father  was  ha.st- 
ily  summoned  from  his  editorial  desk  in  London  to  go  and  see 
a  dyinjx  man.     It  was  none  other  than  Nightingale,  who  had 
been   suecessively   a  Unitarian,  a  INIethodist,  a   seceder  from 
^Methodism  {o  a  little  sect  in  Maeelesfield,  now  forgotten,  Avho 
called  tlieniselves  Kevivalists,  a  Quaker,  and  again  a  Unitarian, 
but  wlio  now,  when  death  and  judgment  loomeil  darkly  before 
him,  trembled  on  account  of  sin,  and  sought  cageMy  the  mercy 
of  the  Gospel.     Even  in  his  vile  caricature  of  3Iethodism  he 
had  thrown  away  some  compliments  u])on  my  father's  talents 
and  character,  and  into  his  hands  he  had  given  his  ticket  when 
he  abandoned,  not  without  some  gentle  compulsion,  the  Meth- 
odist Society.     Now  he  sought  services  which  were  gladly 
rendered,  and  successive  visits  stirred,  almost  painfully,  the 
yearnings  of  my  fatlier's  ]iastoral  heart.     This  sheaf  also  he 
will  bring  with  him.     Nightingale's  last  testimony  need  not  be 
discredited  :  "  Others  may,  for  aught  I  know,  have  found  refuge 
in  what  is  called  '  Rational  Christianity.'     To  their  own  master 
they  stand  or  fall ;  I  (juarrel  with  no  one ;  my  time  is  too  short, 
my  bodily  strength  too  weak,  to  enter  into  the  intricacies  of 
religious  disi)ute^    I  embrace,  therefore,  a  moment's  remaining 
strength  to  beg  of  you,  for  myself,  to  ])rotest,  before  the  rehg^ 
ions  public,  against  all  doctrines  of  faith  in  which  the  great,  and 
leading,  and  incontrovertible  doctrine  of  Divine  Influence,  a-i 
generally  taught  liy  evangelical  Ciu-istians,  does  not  form  an 
essential  point.     If  a  knowledge  of  salvation  by  the  forgiveness 
of  sins  can  be  obtained;  if  a  man  can  be  able  to  say  that  he 
feels  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  his  heart — that  Christ 
dwelleth  in  him,  the  hope  of  glory — that  his  sins  are  ])ardoned, 
and  that  he  can  call  (iod  his  reconciled  Father;  if  he  can  have 
the  spirit  of  adoption  so  as  to  cry  'Abba,  Father;'  if  he  can 
know  that  he  is  j>assed  from  death  unto  fde,  being  born  again 
of  the  Spirit — if  all  this  can  take  ])lace  without  a  cordial  recep- 
tion of  the  iloctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  Atonement,  and  those 
other  great  doctrines  usually  cfinnected  therewith,  then  I  would 
gladly  say  to  such  a  one,  This  is  the  way,  walk  thou  in  it.    Hut 
I  am  compelled,  so  far  as  I  feel  my  own  soid  concerned,  with 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN  SHEFFIELD.  287 

all  the  seriousness  and  earnestness  of  a  clying  man,  to  attest 
that  I  Juive  made  the  cyperbnent.,  and  it  has  failed.'''' 

An  extraet  i'rom  a  letter  of  Robert  Newton  is  interesting,  as 
showing  the  character  of  the  writer,  and  as  giving  some  ac- 
count of  his  lirst  attempt,  when  a  minister  of  nine  years'  stand- 
ing, to  superintend  a  circuit.     It  is  dated 

"  Huddersficld,  September  SOtli,  1808. 
"  Yesterday  morning  I  received  yotir  very  welcome  epistle, 
and  am  obliged  by  the  invitation  which  it  contahis.  To  Mr. 
Claj-ton  and  myself  the  temj)tation  will,  I  believe,  be  irresisti- 
ble, especially  as  it  happens  that  we  can  spare  a  night  or  two 
at  that  time  better  than  for  several  weeks  to  come.  Mrs.  New- 
ton, I  hope,  will  accompany  us ;  but  poor  Bess" — (his  eldest 
child) — "  must  stay  at  home,  as  it  Avould  be  troublesome  to 
take  her  so  far  when  our  stay  must  be  so  short.  We  are  all 
gratified  to  hear  of  your  prosperity;  but  Clayton  desires  me  to 
say  you  must  not  think  to  compare  yourselves  with  us.  "We 
do  not  i)lod  in  the  lower  regions  among  smoke  and  dirt :  we 
move  in  the  higher  walks  of  life,  and  live  next-door  neighbors 
to  the  skies.  From  these  pure  regions,  however,  we  look  down 
Avith  sAinpathy  on  those  who  arc  doomed  to  dwell  in  the  smoke 
of  Shcfiicld !  The  truth  is,  we  are  all  very  hajipy  in  our  new 
situation.  The  people  here  know  how  to  appreciate  the  excel- 
lences of  !Mr.  Clayton  :  he  is  not  only  acceptable,  but  popular. 
We  are  expecting  to  see  good  days ;  the  country  is  full  of  in- 
habitants, and  our  congregations  are  very  large.  You  will  be 
sm-prised  when  I  inform  you  that  Methodist  disciplme  is  total- 
ly unknown  in  this  circuit.  The  leaders  in  this  town  have 
never  been  met,  except  once  or  twice,  during  the  last  three  or 
four  years :  the  society  has  not  been  met  at  all !  We  have  a 
band  meeting  every  Saturday  evening,  l)ut  any  body  is  allowed 
to  be  present,  as  there  is  no  one  to  stand  at  the  door ;  nor  are 
there  any  private  bands  in  the  town.  We  arc  determined  to 
attempt  to  bring  things  imder  Methodistical  regulations;  I 
hope  we  shall  not  fail  in  the  attempt.  Yesterday  we  held  our 
Quarterly  meeting.  I  found  myself  imder  the  necessity  of  en- 
forcuig  discipline,  and  proposed  to  the  leaders  the  application 
of  our  rule  respecting  the  penny  per  week.  A  leader  and  local 
preacher  rose  when  I  had  done,  and  said  he  would  forfeit  his 


288  THE   LIFE  OF  JABE2   BUNTING. 

head  if  tliat  rulo  were  over  acted  upon  in  that  circnit.  We 
had  a  ^icat  deal  wf  sj»eeeliilication  on  tlie  suhjeet;  at  last  the 
leaders  alnu)st  uiilniiniously  agreed  to  do  their  best.  We  liave 
had  some  conversions,  and  have  added  :ihout  sixty  lo  the  soci- 
ety since  we  came  into  the  circnit. 

"  Yours  in  Christ  Jesus,  Robert  Newton. 

"  Mr.  Clayton  begs  I  will  present  his  most  superlative  love." 

A  letter  to  a  brother  minister  introduces  a  topic  which  dur- 
ing this  year  occasioned  much  imeasiness  to  the  Methodist 
ministers  at  Sheffield.  Before  their  appointment  to  the  circuit, 
it  had  been  the  practice  to  teach  the  art  of  writing  in  Sunday- 
schools,  to  Avhich  the  Methodist  name  Avas  attached,  and  Avhich 
were  chiefly  supported  by  Methodist  liberality ;  and,  when  ob- 
jection was  taken,  grave  questions  arose  between  the  active 
managers  of  these  schools  and  the  authorities  of  the  circuit  as 
to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  control  Avhich  the  latter  might 
rightfidly  claim  over  the  former.  This  was  the  second  great 
struggle  of  my  father's  pubUc  life.  The  practice  Avas  very 
prevalent  in  the  north  of  England,  and  its  impropriety  was  not 
yet  clearly  seen,  even  by  many  excellent  ministers.  My  father 
writes  as  follows  :  "  Mr.  Iley's  arguments  against  teaching 
writing  on  the  Lord's  day  are  too  bulky  to  be  inclosed  in  a 
letter.  If  an  opportunity  occur  of  transmitting  them  by  a 
friend  by  Avhom  tliey  can  be  safely  and  speedily  restored  to 
me,  I  will  gladly  send  them.  I  do  think  that  even  your  apol- 
ogy for  that  ])ractice  (the  best  apology  for  it  I  have  seen  or 
heard)  is  very  insufficient.  My  conviction  of  the  evil  resulting 
irom  it,  on  the  whole,  is  so  strong,  that  if  I  thought  my  feeble 
voice  had  any  chance  of  being  heard  with  effi>ct,  I  would  con- 
scientiously ])»d)]ish  to  the  connection  my  objections,  and  my 
protest  against  it.  I^ut  when  so  many  wise  and  good  men  ap- 
prove of  the  custom,  and  others  who  condemn  it  keep  their 
disa})probation  to  themselves  (though  their  influence,  if  exert- 
ed, could  not  fail  to  procure  attention  lo  their  reasonings),  \ 
feel  imwilling  to  do  or  say  any  thing  except  in  my  own  pri- 
vate and  local  si)here  of  action.  Excuse  this  frank  avowal  of 
my  diflerence  in  opinion.  If,  by  Lancaster's  i)lan,  children  can 
be  taught  to  write  while  learning  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and 
irtliiil    ].!;iii  be  feasible  in  Sunday-schools,  my  scruples  would 


HIS  EARLY   MIXISTllY  IN   SHEFFIELD.  289 

be  greatly  relieved.  But  I  think  that  reading,  and  tliat  only 
with  a  view  to  religious  imrposcs,  should  be  the  ol)ject  exclu- 
sively aimed  at  by  the  teachers  and  learners,  otherwise  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  day  is  violated,  and  a  due  reverence  for  it,  as  Di- 
vinely appropriated  to  religious  uses,  is  gradually  sapped  and 
undermined." 

Among  my  Other's  papers  is  found  an  "  Outline  of  the  Ar- 
gument against  teaching  the  Art  of  Writing  on  the  Lord's 
day,"  which  sufficiently  explains  the  process  by  which  he  ar- 
rived at  his  own  conclusions  on  the  subject."* 

"I.  The  appointment  of  the  Sabbath  is  not  ceremonial, 
but  of  moral  obligation.  From  the  beginning,  long  before 
the  Jewish  dispensation  commenced,  God,  as  Creator,  sancti- 
fied, as  well  as  blessed,  the  seventh  day.  The  fourth  com- 
mandment refers  to  it,  not  as  a  new  institution,  but  as  one 

*  As  was  usual  with  him  on  such  occasions,  he  first  formed,  and  then 
fortified  his  own  judgment  by  an  extensive  and  a  minute  examination  of 
the  authorities  on  the  subject.  His  extracts  from  the  writings  of  many  emi- 
nent men  are  in  existence.  The  general  question  of  Sabbath-obsen-ance 
has  assumed  vast  consequences  in  our  own  time  ;  and,  while  it  has  elicited 
many  unanswerable  defenses  of  the  opinions  and  practices  of  godly  profess- 
ors in  all  ages  of  the  Church,  on  no  subject  have  the  writers  in  reply  adopt- 
ed a  train  of  reasoning  more  shallow  and  disingenuous.  It  is  really  amus- 
ing to  note  how  the  authority  of  half  a  dozen  great  names  is  quoted,  not 
always  very  honestly,  and  how  little  names,  never  heard  of  Ijut  when  they 
serve  this  purpose,  are  dressed  up  for  the  occasion.  I  quote  one  extract  by 
my  father  from  the  "Weekly  Instructor"  of  October,  1811,  with  his  preface 
to  it.  "In  answer  to  the  questions,  Why  so  strict  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment Dispensation?  and,  What  harm  is  there  in  some  little  deviations  from 
this  strictness  by  reading,  writing,  visiting,  traveling,  etc.  ?  '  That  the  re- 
ligious observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  if  it  is  to  be  retained  at  all,  must  be  up- 
held by  some  public  and  visible  distinctions.  Draw  the  line  of  distinction 
where  you  will,  many  actions,  which  are  sitnate  on  the  confines  of  the  line, 
will  differ  very  little,  and  yet  lie  on  the  opposite  side  of  it.  Every  trespass 
upon  that  reserve  which  public  decency  has  established  breaks  clown  the 
fence  by  which  the  day  is  separated  to  the  service  of  religion.  These  liber- 
ties, however  intended,  will  certainly  be  considered  l)y  those  who  obser\-e 
them  not  only  as  disrespectful  to  the  day  and  institution,  but  as  proceeding 
from  a  secret  contempt  of  the  Christian  foith.  Consequently,  they  diminish 
a  reverence  for  religion  in  others,  so  far  as  the  authority  of  our  own  opinion 
or  the  influence  of  our  example  extends,  or,  rather  (says  Dr.  Palcy),  so  far 
as  either  will  seiwe  for  an  excuse  of  negligence  to  tliem  who  arc  glad  of  any 
neighbor's  sentiment  and  conduct  to  justify  and  uphold  them  in  their  wick- 
edness.'" 

Vol.  I.— N 


290  THE    LIFE    OF   JAJJKZ    J5UNT1NG. 

already  established:  ^  lie  member  ihc  Sabbatli  day  to  keep  it 
holy.' 

"II.  This  original  a])j»ointnK'iit  of  tlie  Creator,  confinncd  by 
the  Decalogue,  is  binding  on  all  to  whom  it  is  made  kno^ni. 

"III.  To  'sanctity'  and  'keep  holy'  the  Sabbath  day  arc 
phrases  which  can  not  mean  less  than  tlie  separation  of  it  from 
all  secular  uses  whatever,  and  the  dedication  of  it,  Avhole  and 
entire,  to  religious  services;  to  such  uses  as  directly  tend  to 
l^romote  spiritual  interests,  the  salvation  of  our  own  or  others' 
souls,  and  the  preparation  of  ourselves  or  others  for  eternity. 
Those  who  deny  that  the  phrases  in  question  imply  this  may 
be  fairly  challenged  to  state  what  they  do  mean. 

"  IV.  Writing  is,  in  all  its  direct  and  immediate  uses,  a  sec- 
ular art.  The  religious  use  of  it  is  at  best  remote,  contingent, 
and  indirect.  The  design  of  children  in  learning  it,  and  of  mas- 
ters in  teadung  it,  is  chiefly,  if  they  will  confess  the  truth,  the 
temporal  advantage  of  it. 

"  V.  Therefore  it  ought  to  be  taught  in  the  six  days  allotted 
to  us  for  secular  purjioses ;  not  on  the  seventh,  reserved  for 
si)iritual  exercises. 

"VI.  The  case  of  reading  is  very  different  from  that  of 
writing.  It  is  in  order  to  quahfy  children  for  ])erforming  an 
express  and  indispensable  duty,  that  of  searching  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  they  are  taught  to  read.  This  is  a  spiritual  good, 
an  appointed  mean  of  grace  and  salvation. 

"  VII.  Those  passages  bi  the  New  Testament  which  explahi 
the  fourth  commandment  are  aAvfully  abused  when  brought  to 
prove  the  virtual  repeal  of  it.  Those  passages  do  vindicate 
works  of  mercy,  though  not  directly  religious,  when  they  are 
works  of  great  and  immediate  necessity;  such  as  the  recovery 
of  human  beings  from  sickness,  or  the  preservation  even  of 
animal  life  from  dangers  which,  if  not  instantly  counteracted, 
would  occasion  its  total  extinction.  But  the  art  of  writing  is 
not  necessary,  in  any  such  degree,  either  to  health  or  life. 
The  necessity  of  teaching  it  on  Sundays  has  l)een  rather  as- 
serted than  prove<l.  All  who  really  wish  to  learn  it  might 
find  one  or  two  hours  a  A^eek — if  not  in  the  winter,  yet  in 
the  summer  months — if  on  no  other  evening,  yet  on  Saturday 
evenings — for  that  purpose,  and  thus  no  jiart  of  the  Lord's  day 
need  be  alienated  from  those  employments  directly  religious, 


UlS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  291 

which  are  sufficiently  numerous  and  important  to  engross  the 
whole  of  that  sacred  day." 

On  the  second  question  involved  in  the  controversy  my  fa- 
ther's opinions  were  equally  decisive.  The  dispute  ran  not  as 
to  this  or  to  that  particular  polity.  It  raised  much  Avider  is- 
sues. In  justice,  and  with  a  due  regard  to  the  general  welfare 
and  to  the  will  of  Christ,  Are  institutions  which  avowedly  aim 
at  the  very  same  objects  for  which  the  Church  itself  Avas  Di- 
vinely established ;  Avhich,  to  a  large  extent,  absorb  its  best  la- 
bor and  richest  liberality ;  and  for  the  character  and  results  of 
which  it  nuist  always  sustain  the  primary  responsibility,  to  be 
subsidiary  and  friendly  to  it,  or  separate,  independent,  and  hos- 
tile ?  Within  our  OAvn  borders,  this  question  is,  as  to  its  the- 
ory, settled ;  and  if,  in  any  cases,  it  has  not  also  received  a  prac- 
tical solution  in  conformity  Avith  that  theory,  experience  has  al- 
ready shoAA'n,  and  Avill  yet  mcreasingly  develop,  the  mischiefs 
which  attend  so  glaring  an  anomaly. 

In  the  case  of  this  contest,  as  in  that  of  many  others,  my  fa- 
ther bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle,  and,  by  his  steady  adherence 
to  principle,  his  study  and  mastery  of  details,  his  vigorous  and 
eloquent  advocacy,  his  cautious  deahng  Avith  opponents  and 
with  lukewarm  friends,  his  Avillingness  to  endure  personal  ob- 
loquy and  insult,  and  his  utter  fearlessness  of  consequences, 
gradually  placed  himself  at  tlie  head  of  majorities,  and  ulti- 
mately Avon  the  fight.  In  this  instance  the  victory  was  not 
final.  The  opponents  abandoned  the  schools  as  to  which  the 
question  Avas  first  raised,  enlisted  in  their  favor  the  editorial 
advocacy  of  James  Montgomery  in  the  "  Sheffield  Iris,"  and 
commenced  ncAv  undertakings.  But  Ave  shall  see  that,  Avhen 
my  fother  left  the  circuit,  the  contest  was  rencAved,  and  that  a 
general  Avho  did  not  choose  to  fight,  if  he  himself  must  take  the 
chances  of  warfare,  surrendered  without  a  bloAv.  It  is  still  re- 
served for  some  such  self-denying  minister  as  my  fiither  aa^is, 
by  sound  argument,  earnest  entreaty,  and  commanding  Chris- 
tian influencc,^  to  remove  the  last  traces  of  the  objectionable 
practice. 

From  a  letter  AA'ritten  by  Mr.  Griffith  to  my  father,  I  find 
that  these  discussions  did  not  divert  his  mind  from  liis  proper 
study  of  Christian  theology.  "  The  httle  time  I  have  had  since 
the  receipt  of  yours,"  says  his  correspondent,  "  and  the  manner 


292         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

in  which  my  time  is  taken  up  here,  prevent  my  giving  you  any 
satisfactory  answer  to  your  question  respecting  the  justification 
of  inlants.  I  woukl  just  say,  generally,  that  it  appears  to  me 
that,  where  the  Hcrijitures  stop,  our  inquiries  should  stop  also, 
lest  we  be  of  those  who  pry  into  the  'secret  things'  of  'the 
Lord  our  God.'  From  these  Scriptures  I  learn  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin ;  and  I  find  the  doctrine  agreeable  to  matter  of 
fact  when  I  look  at  the  sufferings,  etc.,  of  infonts.  From  these 
Scriptures  I  also  learn  that  inlants — dying  in  infancy — are  safe, 
and,  therefore,  have  been  justified,  in  the  sense  hi  which  justi- 
fication is  necessary  to  everlasting  life.  This  is  all  that  I  know. 
A  multitude  of  puzzhng  questions  may  be  asked  on  the  subject, 
to  all  of  which  I  can  give  no  answer,  because  the  Scriptures 
have  given  me  no  information.  Alas !  I  have  no  time  here  for 
MS.  sermons.  I  feel  it  difficult  to  furnish  the  daily  bread  for 
the  day.  Whenever  I  finish  the  sermon,  which,  Uke  several 
others,  Ues  unfinished  by  me,  you  shall  have  it,  as  I  know  no 
man  to  whom  I  would  expose  my  ignorance  so  readily  as  to 
you.  "We  are  busy  about  chapels.  Snowsfields*  is  going  on. 
We  have  sent  in  proposals  for  the  French  Church  in  Spital- 
fields,  and  thhik  we  shall  have  it." 

A  journey  to  the  north  of  England,  during  the  autumn  of 
the  year  1809,  luidertaken  at  Benson's  almust  imperative  re- 
quest, chiefiy  for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  Chapel  at  ])urham, 
introduced  my  father  to  the  Methodists  of  that  neighborhood, 
M'ith  many  of  Avliom  he  formed  lasting  friendshiiis.  With  the 
elder  ]Mr.  Longridge,  in  ])articular,  he  corresponded  for  several 
years,  chiefly  in  reference  to  the  one  t()])ic  which  absorbed  that 
gentleman's  pious  care — the  Christian  training  of  Methodist 
families.  During  this  visit  he  preached  also  at  Sunderland, 
North  Shields,  South  Shields,  and  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  On 
his  return,  the  late  Josejih  Agar,  whose  memory  will  never  be 
forgotten  by  the  Wesleyans  of  York,  detained  him  in  that  city, 
and  compelled  him  U)  give  them  a  sermon.  jNIr.  Agar  was  cue 
of  the  many  old  Methodists  who,  about  this  period  of  my  fa- 
ther's life,  by  the  triistfulness  they  showed  in  his  character, 
talents,  and  fidelity  to  the  cause  they  had  loved  so  long,  gave 
him  some  confidence  in  his  special  competency  and  calling,  and' 
encouraged  liini  to  j)l:iy  maniiilly  his  j)art  in  life. 
♦  The  Chnpel  in  Long  Lane,  Southwark. 


Ills   EARLY   MIXISTRY   IN  SHEFFIELD.  293 

Although  more  than  ten  years  had  elapsed  since  the  Sacra- 
mental controversy  was  settled  in  England,  it  appears  that  it 
still  raged  elscM'here.  "  Fifteen  years  suice,"  writes  Mr.  Reece, 
"  the  Conference  granted  the  Sacrament  to  the  Channel  Islands. 
It  has  been  administered  in  Guernsey  ever  since  that  time  ;  hut 
Dr.  Coke,  having  made  a  promise  to  the  late  dean  that  it  should 
not  be  administered  in  Jersey,  has  opposed  it  whenever  the  peo- 
ple have  repeated  their  request.  An  independent  Church  has 
lately  been  formed  there,  and  the  ordinance  is  administered  to 
it,  which  has  much  alarmed  the  French  preachers.  They  fear 
that,  if  they  do  not  stand  on  equal  ground,  our  cause  will  be 
ruined.  Should  not  the  doctor's  opposition  be  overruled,  and 
the  general  decision  of  the  Conference  be  acted  upon  in  this 
particular  case  ?"  My  father's  reply  to  this  question  was  im- 
mediate. "  Dr.  Coke's  unwarrantable  promise  to  the  Dean  of 
Jersey  ought  not,  in  my  judgment,  to  deprive  our  societies  in 
that  island  any  longer  of  their  Christian  and  Methodistic  priv- 
ileges. I  hope  you  will  come  forward,  if  necessary,  at  the  next 
Conference  as  their  advocate.  Tliere  is  no  doubt  that  the  de- 
cision of  our  brethren  will  be  in  their  favor."  It  is  worth  while 
to  mark  how  the  refusal  to  treat  Methodists  as  separatists  from 
the  Church  of  England  invariably  operates  for  the  benefit  of 
CongregationaHsm ;  the  assumption  of  authority  by  one  emi- 
nent minister;  and  the  mode  in  which  two  young  ministers 
combined  to  assert  the  authority  of  the  connection. 

The  published  Minutes  of  the  Conference  for  1808  do  not 
contain  any  notice  of  an  important  resolution,*  which  directed 

*  If  some  private  memoranda,  taken  at  clivers  Conferences  during  the  ear- 
lier part  of  this  century,  had  come  sooner  into  my  possession,  I  sliould  have 
made  more  copious  use  of  exceedingly  curious  records.  It  is  impossible  to 
resist  the  temptation  to  insert  one,  dated  1802.  During  the  session  of  that 
year,  Father  Joseph  Bradford  denounced  certain  novelties  in  the  dress  of 
the  preachers'  wives  and  children — "double,  triple  rows  of  buttons,"  etc.; 
whereupon  the  spirit  of  one  husband  present  was  stirred  within  him. 
"(^Vhcn  these  things  were  thus  talked  of,"  writes  Mr.  Suter,  in  a  series  of 
panting  parentheses,  "I  thought,  if  my  Mary  was  but  here,  she  would  sure- 
ly be  again  and  more  personally  looked  to,  and  truly  spoken  of,  as  a  just  and 
proper  model  for  all  the  preachers'  wives  in  the  connection,  both  as  to  her 
attention  to  lier  family  and  decency  of  dress,  her  attention  to  public  means, 
and  her  punctuality  in  attending.  I  farther  thought  that  then  was  it  seen 
that  her  plain  black  bonnet,  instead  of  being  a  cause  of  shame,  would  be  an 
ornament  of  honor  and  renown.     Oh,  my  dear  M.,  I  thought,  if  you  had 


20-i  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

James  Wootl,  llic  ])rc'sidc'nt  for  the  year,  and  liis  colleagues, 
Keeec  and  Lonias,  to  propaic  a  Digest  oftlie  llules  of  tlie  Body. 
Mr.  Keoce  writes  to  my  father,  '•'•Tlic'  Digest  goes  on  very  slow- 
ly, owing  to  the  many  other  things  Mhich  Mr. Wood  has  to  do. 
Brother  Lomas  and  I  have  performed  the  i)art  allotted  to  ns 
long  since,  and  the  wliole  will  be  laid  before  tlie  Book  Conmiit- 
tee.  The  Avork  is  divided  into  chapters,  and  each  chapter  into 
sections.  I  give  you  a  specimen :  '  Chap.  II.  On  Places  of  Wor- 
ship and  Official  Characters.  Section  1.  Chapels ;  2.  Preachers, 
etc'  When  first  we  distributed  the  work,  it  was  agreed  that 
each  section  should  be  introduced  by  a  short  address,  illustra- 
tive of  the  reasons  and  circumstances  out  ofwliich  that  part  of 
our  economy  arose,  together  with  tlie  design  and  tendency  of 
it.  This,  it  was  thought,  would  render  the  work  more  gener- 
ally acceptable  and  useful,  as  many  of  our  peoi)le,  and  some  of 
our  preachers,  know  very  little  of  these  things.  Mr.  Wood  is 
now  drawing  uj)  a  long  preface,  Avhich  he  thinks  will  supersede 
the  necessity  of  these  short  addresses.  Tliis  I  doubt,  as  Mr. 
Wood's  jireface  will  not  contain  that  minute  ami  circumstantial 
information  which  the  others  do.  I  doubt  if  the  same  ])erson 
will  ever  read  the  preface  more  than  once,  whereas  the  others 
will  be  frequently  read  when  the  rules  are  consulted,  and  thus 
the  end  Avill  be  answered.  I  should  be  glad  of  your  opinion  on 
the  two  plans,  and  the  sooner  the  better," 

Mr.  Lonias  addresses  my  father  on  the  same  subject:  "I 
write  now  to  recjuest  that  you  will  give  my  love  to  Mr.  Myles, 
and  ask  him  Avhether,  in  his  researches  among  the  records  of 
Methodism,  he  found  any  thing  in  print  concerning  the  origin 
of  quarterly  meetings  ;  and,  if  he  did,  Avhere  it  may  be  met  with. 
I  Avill  thaidv  you  to  eonnnunicate  his  answer  as  soon  as  conven- 
ient. We  have  made  some  progress  in  the  Avork  connnitted  to 
us  by  the  last  Conference,  and  hope  to  have  it  ready  in  time; 
but,  Avhcn  Ave  have  done  all  that  Ave  have  authority  to  do,  the 

lieaid  the  1)cst  of  men  and  most  i-cs|icctal)le  of  cliaractcrs  talking  as  tlicy  did, 
and  tlic  licarty  appioliatioji  of  tin;  wliole  body  ]iiisciit  (140  ])ieaeliers ;  Mr. 
Myles  told  rac  so  to-dny),  n  few  excepted  (Mr.  A.  sat  hefuic  me,  Init  Iiis 
wife,  etc.),  you  would  never  re])ent  of  beinp,  as  you  Iour  have  hcen,  singu- 
larly jilaiii  as  well  as  sinf,'ulaily  )jood.  Oh,  I  tiiouf,'lit,  may  I  and  mine 
stand  as  dear  every  way  in  tiiat  day  when  the  Jud^e  eomes  us  I  feel  myself 
and  f.-ci  for  mine  in  tliis  instance!     O  Heaven  hel])!)" 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  295 

work  will  need  much  improvement  to  make  it  what  it  should 
be,  a  complete  system  of  law  for  the  government  of  the  body. 
And  how  shall  this  be  accomplished  ?  Will  it  be  done  in  pub- 
lic Conference,  or  by  a  committee  during  the  time  of  Confer- 
ence ?  Each  of  these  is  unlikely ;  and  I  fear  that,  after  all,  the 
work  will  not  be  such  as  I  could  wish." 

To  Mr.  Reece  my  father  replies :  "  I  am  much  gi*atificd  by 
the  specimen  of  the  Digest  Avhieh  your  letter  contains.  I  hope 
what  has  long  been  a  desideratum  in  Methodism  will  now  be 
supplied.  I  think,  and  so  do  all  the  brethren  here,  that  the  in- 
troductory remarks  to  each  section  should  by  all  means  be  pre- 
served, and  that  no  general  preface,  however  excellent,  can  su- 
persede their  utility.  In  many  histanccs,  the  rules  themselves 
can  not,  by  strangers,  be  well  miderstood  without  some  such 
preliminary  iustruction.-  You  have,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  prece- 
dent of  the  American  Methodists  on  your  side,  who,  in  their 
Digest,  published  by  Dr.  Coke  and  ]\Ir.  Asbury,  have  adopted 
the  same  plan,  or  one  nearly  equivalent.  Perhajjs  some  assist- 
ance might  be  derived  by  you  and  your  coadjutors  from  con- 
sulting what  the  Quakers  call  their  '  Book  of  Extracts.'  It  is 
a  small  volume,  the  second  edition  of  which  was  published  in 
1802,  and  contains  an  arranged  body  of  extracts  from  the  Min- 
utes of  their  Yearly  Meetings,  composing  together  their  present 
system  of  Discipline.  Almost  any  respectable  Quaker  in  Bris- 
tol Avould  lend  it  you.  Perhaps  the  plan  which  they  adopted 
for  the  examination  and  authoritative  introduction  of  this  Di- 
gest of  their  rules,  when  it  had  been  drawn  up  by  their  com- 
mittee, might  not  be  improper  in  our  case.  You  will  find  it  de- 
scribed in  the  Preface." 

When  long  experience  had  taught  my  flither  the  difticulties 
of  codification,  he  was  much  inclined  to  doubt  whether  it  was 
not  better  to  rest  satisfied  with  a  Compendium  such  as  Grind- 
rod's,  commanding  general  respect  from  the  character  of  its 
author,  and  capable  of  easy  verification  or  correction  by  refer- 
ence to  authentic  documents,  than  to  attempt  any  official  Di- 
gest. Any  systematic  arrangement  of  our  laws  woidd  reveal 
redundancy  as  to  some  points,  and  a  theoretical  defectiveness 
as  to  others,  and  thus  a  logical  necessity  would  be  created  for 
measures  both  of  repeal  and  of  enactment,  which  Avould  prob- 
ably occasion  discussion  and  difficulty  exactly  in  proportion  to 


296  THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

tlicir  real  Avortlilcssncss.  Tliat  strangers  can  not  easily  under- 
stand our  rules — the  motive  suggested  iit'ty  years  ago  l)y  my 
father — scarcely  counterbalances  this  consideration.  In  ])iit- 
ting  out  onr  new  shop-front,  we  may  damage  the  foundation 
of  the  building.  One  sometimes  wonders  what  would  be  the 
result  if,  during  twenty  years  together,  the  Methodist  people 
were  patiently  to  follow  John  "Wesley's  advice,  and  simply  to 
keep  our  rules  instead  of  trying  to  mend  them.  Codification, 
it  shoxdd  be  remembered,  Avould  create  a  necessity  for  amend- 
ment, even  were  Ave  all  thus  doing  our  duty. 

The  spring  of  1809  brought  with  it  a  deluge  of  invitations 
to  my  father  from  all  ])arts  of  the  kingdom  in  reference  to  his 
next  appointment.  The  circuit  stewards  of  those  days  were 
not  perfunctory  ofticials,  and  they  asked,  entreated,  and  im- 
plored, invited,  persuaded,  and  enticed  him  on  all  hands  to 
commit  himself  to  some  pledge  on  the  subject.  But  he  would 
not  make  any  engagement.  Expressing  a  preference  for  Liv- 
erpool, he  assured  all  a})plicants  that  he  would  cheerfully  labor 
in  any  Circuit  to  Avhich  the  Conference  might  send  him.  I 
conjecture  that,  in  his  anxiety  to  educate  himself  in  the  entire 
system  of  JMethodism,  ho  felt  considerable  indifterence  as  to 
the  precise  place  of  his  ap])renticeship  if  only  it  ju'ovided  him 
witli  a  new  held  of  observation  and  of  usefulness.  Two  ex- 
ceptions must  be  made  to  this  statement.  The  distance  of 
Bristol  from  his  mother's  residence  induced  him  to  decline,  so 
far  as  lie  had  any  voice  in  the  matter,  an  invitation  from  that 
circuit.  The  case  of  Bradford,  it  will  be  seen,  rested  upon  an 
entirely  different  ground. 

A  letter  to  Mr.  iMarsden  alludes  to  a  subject  which  occasion- 
ed my  father  a  great  deal  of  annoyance  and  labor.  "  We  have 
had  a  long  and  troublesome  contest  with  our  parish  ofhcers, 
who  wished  to  fix  a  jiarisli  apprentice  Avith  each  of  the  three 
married  lu-eachers,  and  intimated  their  ])urpose  to  rencAV  the 
imposition  at  every  Kucceeding  change  of  preachers.  As  the 
fine  for  each  refusal  is  £10,  this  Avould  have  been,  in  fact,  a 
biennial  tax  of  £30  on  itinerancy  as  practice<l  among  us.  ^Vfter 
various  consultations  of  counsel,  memorials  to  magistrates,  etc., 
etc.,  Ave  have  at  length,  through  a  good  Providence,  arrived  at 
a  satisfactory  result.  Much  to  the  mortification  of  the  over- 
seers and  their  laAvyer,  the  bench  unanimously  decided  that 


ins  EARLY  MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  297 

the  preachers'  lioiises  should  he  liable  only  in  their  turn  ^\  ith 
other  houses ;  and  that,  to  secure  this  point,  the  stewards,  and 
not  the  jireachers,  should  be  rated,  pay  all  assessments,  and  be 
responsible  for  the  apprentices.  The  officers,  encouraged  by 
the  case  at  York,  have  also  assessed  all  our  chapels  very  heav- 
ily. But,  disheartened  perhaps  by  the  failure  of  the  former 
l)lan  respectnig  apprentices,  they  have  not,  as  yet,  troubled  us 
with  any  actual  demand  for  the  chapels." 

But  by  far  the  most  interesting  question  of  the  year  related 
to  the  operation  of  the  ju-ovisions  of  Wesley's  Deed-poll.  By 
the  terms  of  that  instrument  the  Conference  consisted  of  one 
hundred  ministers  only ;  but  all  the  ministers  permitted  by  the 
District  meetings  to  attend  the  Conference  discharged  its  func- 
tions, except  only  in  reference  to  the  election  of  the  president 
and  of  the  secretary.  Then  arose  the  question  as  to  the  right 
of  attendance,  which  Avas  regulated  by  successive  acts  of  legis- 
lation. Wlien  the  number  entitled  to  attend  increased  to 
something  like  two  Inuidred,  the  elder  ministers  took  alarm ; 
they  feared  that  their  influence  and  strictly  legal  rights  would 
be  destroyed  by  the  power  of  adA'crse  majorities.  On  the  oth- 
er hand,  a  strong  jealousy  was  felt  by  the  younger  ministers 
of  any  restriction  of  accustomed  jirivileges.  The  subject  was 
discussed  at  the  Conference  of  1808,  and  was  ordered  to  be  re- 
ported upon  by  the  next  ensuing  District  jneetings.  Entwisle, 
Griftith,  Gaulter,  the  elder  Jonathan  Crowther,  and  Marsden, 
were  some  of  those  who  corresponded  Avith  my  father  on  the 
subject,  and,  though  the  tone  of  their  communications  was  very 
moderate,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  no  little  danger  of  angry  excite- 
ment existed.  A  letter  Avritten  by  my  father  gives  some  ac- 
coimt  of  the  proceedings  of  the  District  meeting  held  at  Shef- 
field. I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  minutes  were  drawn 
up  by  himself,  or  at  his  instance,  and  Avere  in  accordance  Avith 
liis  individual  opinions.  I  subjoin  extracts.  Those  Avho  have 
alleged  that  my  father  AA'as  unfriendly  to  the  rights  of  liis 
brethren  and  to  free  discussion  Avithin  the  Avails  of  Conference 
Avill  find  they  have  been  mistaken :  "  We  Avish  an  annual  report 
of  the  fund  to  be  sent  to  every  member.  We  propose  that 
every  preacher  at  Conference  found  guilty  of  grossly  ncT^lectino- 
to  attend  to  the  business  AA'hich  is  transacted,  or  of  absentino" 
hhnself  Avithout  leave,  shall  be  prevented  from  ntteiidino-  for 

N2 


298  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

four  subsequent  years,  unless  sent  for.  AVe  disapprove  of  the 
London  plan  for  raisinp^  a  district  fund  for  chapels  as  imprac- 
ticable and  iuii)roductive.  We  propose  that  preachers  received 
even  on  trial  shall  have  read  and  approved  our  doctrinal  Min- 
utes, and  censure  the  precii)itancy  with  Avliich  some,  not  duly 
recommended,  are  taken  out  at  the  close  of  Conference.  In- 
stead of  these  hasty  measures,  we  recommend  greater  attention 
to  the  duty  of '  praying  the  Lord  of  the  harvest.'  We  advise 
an  inquiry  into  some  reported  gross  violations  of  the  rules  re- 
specting singing  and  music  in  our  chapels.  AVe  do  not  thhik 
it  right  that  the  young  men,  when  publicly  received  into  full 
connection,  should  occupy  so  large  a  share  of  the  time  in  the 
relation  of  experience,  but  propose  that  a  regular  charge  shall 
be  addressed  to  them,  and  the  senior  brethren  imite  in  solemn 
])rayer.  We  thank  Mr.  Benson  for  inserting  in  the  Magazine 
the  article  from  Macknight  against  female  ])reaching;  we  wish 
Mr.  AYesley's  opinion  on  the  same  side,  ui  his  AVorks,  vol.  xix., 
p.  2G1,  to  be  republished  by  authority  of  the  Conference;  we 
express  our  oi)inion  that  the  practice  is  unscriptural,  disgrace- 
ful to  our  connection,  and  eventually  more  mischievous  than 
useful,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  discountenanced.  AA  e  inquire 
also  whether  our  AA'^elsh  brethren  do  not  sometimes  employ  a 
woman  to  open  their  new  chapels,  and  censure  those  preachers 
who,  instead  of  doing  their  ministerial  Avork  in  person,  are  in 
the  habit  of  resigning  their  pulpits  to  their  wives.  AVe  pro- 
pose a  minute  to  the  following  effect:  'The  Coni'erence  ear- 
nestly recommend  to  the  committees,  superintendents,  and 
teachers  of  all  Methodist  Sunday-schools,  to  ado])t  the  plan  on 
which  these  excellent  institutions  were  first  established,  and 
which  has  been  successfully  tried  at  iVLuicliester,  Lojulon,  Brad- 
ford, Sluflield,  etc.,  etc. ;  by  teaching  Avriting  and  aritlnuetic 
on  week-day  evenings  only,  so  that  the  Lord's  day  may  be 
spent  in  a  regular  attendance  on  worship,  in  reading  or  learn- 
ing to  read  the  Scrij>tures,  and  in  such  instruction  and  exer- 
cises as  are  directly  and  evidently  of  a  ix-ligious  nature.  In  all 
new  schools  iiereafter  established  among  us,  let  this  jilan  b(^ 
uniformly  followed.'  In  answer  to  Q.  20  of  last  Minutes,  that 
relating  to  attendance  at  Conference,  we  observe  that,  if  oin- 
work  continue  to  increase  rapidly,  some  change  of  system  will 
in  a  few  years  ])e  un:ivoi<lal)lc,  and  that  then,  perliaps,  il  would 


IIIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  299 

ho  best  to  liave  provincial  Conferences,  by  uniting  several  of 
our  present  Districts ;  a  general  Conference  for  legislation,  etc., 
being  held  once  in  two  or  three  years  only.  At  present,  we 
think  no  material  departure  from  the  existing  system  is  advis- 
able: 1.  Becau.se  the  inconveniences  alleged  are  not  yet  so  ur- 
gent as  to  render  a  change  indispensable ;  and  we  think  mere 
experiments  in  legislation,  uncalled  for  by  jDressing  necessity, 
are  dangerous.  2.  Because  the  advantages  of  frequent  and  nu- 
merous Conferences  counterbalance  the  inconveniences,  by  pro- 
moting brotherly  love,  by  producing  a  uniuu  of  opinion  and  of 
eftbrt,  and  by  furnishing  the  junior  brethren  with  their  best 
opportunities  of  studying  the  peculiar  doctrines,  discipliue,  and 
genius  of  jMethodism,  Avith  all  which  it  is  of  importance  that 
tliey  should  be  accurately  acquainted  at  the  earliest  possible 
period  of  their  itinerancy,  before  anti-]\Iethodistical  views  and 
liabits  have  been  contracted.  3.  Because  the  remedies  pro- 
posed for  the  alleged  inconveniences  last  Conference  (viz.,  the 
restricting  the  number  of  attendants  and  votes  by  a  new  prin- 
ciple of  exclusion,  applying  to  one  particular  class  of  })reachers) 
would  occasion  worse  evils  than  that  which  it  professes  to 
cure ;  would  sanction  a  principle  by  which  any  other  spiritual 
usurpation  or  anti-Christian  hierarchy  might  afterward  be  in- 
troduced and  defended ;  would  imply  an  vmscriptural  and  in- 
tolerable attack  on  the  ministerial  character  and  equal  rights 
of  the  juniors  in  full  connection,  and  Avould  therefore  be  dis- 
2)leasing  to  God,  and  dangerous  alike  to  the  peace  and  stability 
of  our  connection." 

Before  my  fother  retired  from  public  life,  the  numbers  attend- 
ing the  Conference  were  twice  as  many  as  at  the  time  these 
minutes  were  written.  But  I  believe  that  the  only  moditica- 
tion  which  he  would  have  suggested  at  the  later  period  would 
have  been  to  omit  that  portion  of  them  which  contemplated 
provincial  Conferences.  He  became  fully  convinced  that  these 
would  be  attended  with  serious  disadvantages  and  with  grave 
perils.  It  is  clear  that,  as  ministers  increase,  and  opportunities 
of  personal  converse  and  friendship  become  less  frequent,  a  very 
strong  case  must  be  made  out  to  justify  any  change  of  the 
present  system ;  and,  to  say  nothing  of  the  legal  and  other 
difficulties  which  would  attend  the  alteration,  it  would  seem 
that  no  evils  at  present  exist  which  may  not  be  easily  reme- 
died without  resortinc:  to  it. 


300  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

About  this  period  of  my  father's  history,  it  was  the  not  un- 
common practice  of  District  meetings  to  discuss  the  condition 
and  requirements  of  the  connection  at  hn'ge,  and  to  embody 
their  opinions  in  miniites  forwarded  to  the  Conference.  I  see 
no  occasion  for  regret  that  this  custom  does  not  now  generally 
prevail.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  projects  of  change  affecting  the 
entire  body  will  be  freer  both  from  personal  and  from  local 
bias,  and  will,  therefore,  be  more  likely  to  result  in  measures 
of  somid  general  policy,  Avlien  originated  for  discussion  at  the 
Conference  itself,  or  in  eonuuittees  intrusted  with  the  several 
departments  of  administration. 

At  the  Conference  of  1809,  of  which  Thomas  Taylor  was 
president,  the  question  of  attendance  at  the  Conference  was 
left  substantially  in  the  position  Avhich  the  minutes  of  the  Shef- 
field District  meeting  had  recommended.  Other  measures  of 
the  same  session,  relating  chiefly  to  finance,  had  their  origin  in 
my  father's  attention  to  that  department  of  connectional  af- 
fairs. There  are  also  traces  of  the  results  of  my  father's  cor- 
respondence with  Mr.  Longridge  on  the  subject  of  family  re- 
ligion. I  find,  too,  that  the  practice  of  giving  a  charge  to  the 
young  ministers  received  into  full  connection  was  established 
at  this  Conference.  A  speech  delivered  by  my  father  durhig 
the  earlier  part  of  the  proceedings  secured  for  him  the  life-long 
gratitude  and  afiection  of  the  late  Rev.  David  M'Nicoll.  He 
and  one  of  his  colleagues  had,  during  the  preceding  year,  "  of 
malice  aforethought,"  and  without  the  sanction  of  their  super- 
intendent, established  a  society  for  the  mental  improvement  of 
the  younger  members  of  one  of  their  congregations.  Grave 
charges  were  preferred  at  the  District  meeting,  and  were  trans- 
mitted to  the  Conference.  I  can  not  believe  that  my  father 
Avas  induced  to  palliate  any  very  serious  case  of  insubordina- 
tion. If  he  did,  I  must  plead  as  his  apology  the  charm  of  his 
first  acquaintance  with  one  of  the  most  amiable  and  accom- 
jdished  men  who  ever  encountered  the  toils  of  the  Methodist 
itinerancy. 

One  event  only  of  any  great  domestic  interest  took  place  in 
the  second  year  of  my  father's  residence  at  Sheffield.  In  De- 
cember, 1808,  his  second  daughter  was  born.  Mr.  Myles  bap- 
tized her  by  the  name  of  her  grandmother,  Mary  Redfern. 

I  have  been  favored  with  a  communication  fi-(>m  Mrs.  New- 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IX   SHEFFIELD.  301 

ton  Avliicli  relates  partly  to  tins  period.  Tliough  it  refers  to 
other  periods  also,  earlier  and  later,  and  makes  mention  almost 
as  frequently  of  my  mother  as  of  my  father,  I  can  not  persuade 
myself  to  break  the  continuity  of  the  narrative.  The  Methodist 
community  need  not  be  reminded  that  Robert  Newton's  widow 
still  survives ;  but  the  record  which,  in  her  eightieth  year,  she 
has  written  on  this  occasion,  will  excite  a  yet  livelier  interest 
in  her  Avelfare,  and  will  elicit  many  a  hearty  prayer  to  iVlmighty 
God  for  the  increasing  comfort  and  honor  of  her  last  days. 

"  The  third  year  after  our  marriage,"  writes  Mrs.  Newton, 
"I  returned  from  Glasgow  by  way  of  London.  My  dear  hus- 
band was  about  to  attend  the  Conference  there.  I  hoped  that 
the  introduction  of  him  to  my  friends  in  the  metropolis  woi;ld 
remove  the  prejudice  they  had  formed  against  Methodism,  and 
would  restore  me  again  to  their  favor.  My  wishes  were  ful- 
filled. My  friends  said  we  were  born  for  each  other.  It  was 
during  my  visit  there  that,  after  taking  a  walk  one  day  with 

Mrs. ,  we  turned  into  one  of  the  vestries  connected  with 

City  Road  Chapel.  The  Conference  was  then  sitting ;  and  my 
companion  was  informed  that  her  husband  was  about  to  be 
stationed,  not,  as  she  expected,  in  some  part  of  London,  but 

elsewhere.     Poor  Mrs. felt  this  exceedingly,  and  became 

very  warm  on  the  subject.  An  interesting  young  lady  stand- 
ing by,  after  a  few  ineifectual  attempts  to  console  her  said, 
'  Well,  if  my  husband  were  ordered  to  some  other  station  by 
the  Conference,  I  should  think  it  right  to  acquiesce  without 

murmuring.'     'You!'  said  poor  Mrs. :  'it  becomes  you 

to  say  so  resignedly,  when  you  well  know^  there  is  such  a  strife 
to  obtain  and  retain  him.'  I  hked  the  sentiment  of  the  young- 
lady,  and  inquired  who  she  Avas ;  and  was  answered, '  The  re- 
cently-married wife  of  Jabez  Bunting.'  This  was  the  first  time 
I  heard  your  father's  name  with  any  interest ;  and  it  was  not 
till  we  had  been  two  years  in  Rotherham  and  one  in  Sheffield 
that  we  became  personally  acquainted.  Mr.  Bunting  succeed- 
ed Mr.  Ilaslam  in  Sheffield :  Mrs.  Ilaslam  was  ill,  and  could  not 
at  once  remove  with  him  to  his  new  circuit ;  and  the  late  3Ir. 
Holy  and  his  kind  lady  requested  your  father  and  mother  to 
be  their  guests.  Soon  after  their  arrival  I  niade  my  first  call, 
and  with  more  interest  than  I  usually  felt  on  such  occasions. 
Shall  I  tell  you  of  our  first  introduction — so  perfectly  charac- 


302  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

toristic  of  your  clear  motlior?  Mr.  Bimtiiii;  had  his  foot  on  a 
chair,  and  she  was  stitching  a  loop  tliat  had  failed  in  liis  black 
silk  stocking,  on  liis  then  remarkably  finely-formed  leg — much 
admired  in  those  days,  when  trowsers  were  woi'n  only  by  sea- 
men. The  footman  announced  my  name,  and  Mrs.  B.  desisted 
froni  lier  work  for  a  few  moments,  and  we  shook  hands.  Then, 
with  one  of  the  looks  peculiar  to  her,  half  droll,  half  serious,  she 
f^aid  to  me, '  Do  you  mend  your  husband's  stockings  ?'  Of 
course,  I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  '  Oh,  well,  then,'  she 
said, '  I  Mill  finish  my  job,'  and  in  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Bunting 
and  she  were  conversing  with  me  rather  as  old  friciuls  than  as 
those  so  newly  introduced  to  my  acquaintance.  On  i)arting,  I 
said  I  hoped  we  should  meet  oilen ;  and  your  mother  replied, 
'  I  have  no  objection  to  be  very  thick  with  you.'  Such  was 
our  first  meeting.  They  removed  as  soon  as  possible  to  their 
house  in  Carver  Street,  in  which  street  avc  also  resided.  The 
yoxmgest  child  was  taken  ill,  and  in  a  few  days  after  your  fa- 
ther came  in  a  distressed  state  of  mind,  and  requested  me  to  go 
to  Mrs.  Bunting,  for  he  feared  the  poor  child  was  dying.  I 
joined  them  immediately,  and  found  your  mother  with  the  babe 
on  her  knee,  evidently  in  the  latest  struggle.  I  thought  of  my 
own  one  child,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  joining  my  tears  with 
theirs.  A  few  hours,  and  their  first  girl  Mas  gone ;  and,  mitil 
after  lier  funeral,  I  spent  the  morning  and  afternoon  Mith  the 
sorroM'ing  parents,  and  at  dusk  they  returned  M'ith  me  to  tea, 
and  M'e  parted  only  M'hcn  it  M'as  time  to  retire  for  the  night. 
Thus  passed  the  first  Aveek  of  their  bereavement.  Your  fii- 
ther's  first  etlbrt  after  the  child's  death  Mas  to  obtain  its  like- 
ness before  it  M'as  removed  from  his  sight.  I  sat  by  the  artist 
much  of  the  time  Avhile  he  attempted  the  sketch,  and  unclosed 
its  little  eyes  to  sliow  their  lovely  blue.  Thus  M'as  sealed  an 
intimacy  that  caused  ns  much  ])leasure  in  our  early  life,  and 
that  contimied  to  the  end.  The  society  in  Sliefiield  M'as  very, 
very  ]iospital)le,  and  invitations  for  dinner,  tea,  and  sup))or 
were  so  general,  that  M'e  agreed  to  decline  all  visits  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  engaged  to  spend  the  evenings  of  that  day  al- 
ternately at  each  other's  houses.  This  arrangement  continued, 
and,  I  think,  Mithout  any  interruption,  during  IJie  year  Ave  spent 
together  in  Sliefiield.  Our  dear  husbands  enjoyed  the  I'elaxa- 
tion  of  cheerful  comerse  and  of  mutual  Christian  feeling,  some- 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  303 

times  mixed  Avith  tlic  little  marvels  of  our  children's  prowess 
during  the  week,  and  the  social  meal  after  their  Sabbath  toils, 
for  they  had  usually  had  long  walks  or  rides,  preached  three 
times,  and  attended  to  their  other  duties  as  Methodist  mhiis- 
ters.  Our  frequent  meetings  at  each  other's  houses,  and  at 
the  tables  of  our  kmd  friends  in  Sheffield,  did  not  allow  many 
days  to  pass  without  spending  some  hours  together,  and  your 
mother  and  myself  seldom  walked  out  on  busmess  or  on  i^leas- 
ure  aloiie — when  on  pleasure,  often  accompanied  by  our  nurses 
and  children,  who  kept  within  our  view,  and  were  an  ever- 
pleasing  topic  of  conversation.  Plans  for  their  future  benefit 
were  proposed  and  discussed  with  the  earnestness  of  youthful 
mothers  who  had  yet  all  to  learn  on  the  subject  of  education, 
and  the  difficult  task  of  subjecting  a  mother's  feelings  to  con- 
victions of  duty.  While  happy  in  havmg  found  such  a  com- 
panion as  your  mother,  I  was  still  more  so  in  being  under  the 
ministry  of  your  father,  whose  beautifully  clear  manner  of  ex- 
pounding the  Word  of  God,  and  then  of  bringing  it  to  bear  on 
my  religious  feelings,  was  such  a^s  I  had  not  previously  met 
with,  while  in  our  friendly  parties  abroad  and  in  our  family 
intercourse  his  conversation  was  uniformly  serious  and  in- 
structive. Like  his  ministry  in  the  pulpit,  every  word  had  its 
proper  place,  and  every  sentence  might  have  been  digested 
previously,  whatever  was  the  subject  of  discourse.  Sometimes 
your  dear  mother's  uncontrollable  wit  suddenly  disturbed  our 
gravity;  but  he  was  never  seen  otherwise  than  in  his  own 
proper  character  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  I 
thought  I  could  perceive  in  him  a  natural  warmth  of  temper, 
and  secretly  admired  the  power  of  grace  in  its  subjection, 
though  he  was  ever  earnest  where  the  cause  of  religion  was 
endangered.  If  I  ever  saw  him  warm,  it  was  in  reference  to 
the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath,  as  to  which  he  was  painfully 
opposed.  Would  we  had  more  such  advocates  in  this  day  of 
strife  on  the  subject !  I  remember,  Avhen  in  Sheffield,  I  had 
taken  my  child  into  a  field  behind  the  house  during  the  time 
her  nurse  was  at  chapel.  I  casually  mentioned  having  done 
so  at  our  evening's  social  meeting,  when  he  rather  sharply  re- 
proved me,  not  for  the  thing  itself,  but  for  the  example.  'If 
Mrs.  Newton  be  seen  walking  about  during  Divine  service, 
what  Methodist  need  refrain  from  a  like  indulgence? '     Thus  he 


oO-i  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

spoke;  and  inv  own  dear  husband  smiled  ai)provingly.  I  saw 
they  were  right,  :nid  that  I  ought  to  abstain  IV^m  the  aj)})ear- 
ance  of  evih  It  has  liad  an  inthience  on  mv  (hu'ing  iny  king 
life,  and  I  now  pity  the  Christian  who  can  not  enjoy  the  duties 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  iind  in  them  a  relaxation  after  the  six  days' 
toil  of  the  preceding  week.  I  need  not  say  your  father  was 
popular  in  Shefheld.  He  was  ahvays  so  ;  but  his  ministry  was 
evidently  greatly  valued  for  its  efficiency.  The  two  friends, 
Xewton  and  Bunting,  went  in  unison  of  spirit  to  their  work, 
and  not  only  every  Sabbath,  but  on  many  evenings  during  the 
week,  met  and  tallced  over  the  cares  of  the  circuit  and  the 
mercies  of  the  day,  concluding  with  family  worship.  After  a 
year  thus  spent  Ave  found  it  a  trial  to  se])arate.  AVe  removed 
to  Iluddersfield,  and  they  remained  another  year  in  Sheffield. 
For  the  two  years  following  our  intercourse  was  mterrupted; 
but  we  still  had  sometimes  an  interview  with  your  father  Avhen 
engaged  in  occasional  services,  and  he  came  to  christen  our 
oldest  boy  in  the  chapel  at  Ilolmlirth.  It  was  a  time  of  great 
intei'est  to  tlie  kind  friends  there.  Never  shall  I  forget  the 
fervency  of  his  prayer  for  the  child  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
service.  From  Ilolmlirth  we  removed  to  London,  and  in  the 
course  of  our  sojourn  there  Mr.  Bunting  was  called  to  ba])tizo 
our  next  child  in  the  Ilinde  Street  Cha2)el.  I  almost  forgot 
the  delicate  state  of  my  health  while  I  conversed,  with  my  dear 
husband  and  with  him,  of  old  times  and  of  future  prospects. 
3Iy  health  induced  my  dear  husband  to  remove  to  a  country 
station.  It  was  about  the  time  of  the  iirst  missionary  meeting 
at  Leeds,  and  from  Mr.  Bunting  at  that  time  I  had  an  account 
of  tlic  commencement  of  a  Avork  tliat  lias  been,  and  is  increas- 
ingly, of  such  importance  in  the  Churcli.  One  short  year  be- 
fore I  had  the  pleasure  of  entertaining  Dr.  Coke,  who,  with  my 
husliand,  had  been  (I  should  think)  on  his  last  begging  expe- 
dition before  lie  left  for  India,  so  soon  to  be  called  up  higher, 
and  to  leave  his  consecrated  work  in  other  hands.  For  sever- 
al years  subsequently  to  1815  our  residences  were  widely  dis- 
tant ;  but  in  1824,  when  we  were  in  Salfurd,  i\Ir.  Bunting  came 
to  Manchester,  and  Ave  renewed  our  friendly  intercourse.  INIany 
of  our  children  Avere  then  come  to  an  age  Avhcn  avc  could  no 
longer  amuse  ourselves  Avith  their  little  Aveakncsses,  but  Avere 
treMiblinirly  alive  to  our  OAvn  resjionsiliilities  and  lo  tlieir  fu- 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   IN   SHEFFIELD.  305 

turc  welfare.  •  IVIany  wove  tlie  conversations  Ijctween  yonr 
mother  and  myself  on  subjects  so  interesting.  Our  next  meet- 
ing as  neighbors  Avas  at  Liverpool.  Her  health  was  declining, 
but  I  little  thought  I  should  so  soon  lose  my  early  friend.  The 
last  time  I  saw  her  she  was  very  ill  in  Liverpool,  and,  though 
Ave  did  not  api)rehend  danger,  your  dear  Other's  spirits  Avere 
very  low,  and  she  Avas  painfully  learning  the  hard  lesson  that 
to  do  God's  Avill  Avas  over,  and  to  suffer  it  Avas  begun.  I  have 
only  to  record  my  remembrance  of  her  uniform  moral  Avorth. 
FcAv  kncAv  her  more  intimately  than  myself.  We  Avere  of  dif- 
ferent temperaments.  Your  mother's  Avit  was  often  irrepressi- 
ble, but  it  Avas  never  frivolous ;  and,  Avheu  her  heart  Avas  laid 
most  open  to  the  inspection  of  her  friends,  it  Avas  found  on  the 
side  of  true  religion  and  of  the  strictest  honor.  She  once  said 
to  me,  'I  should  hate  myself  if  I  thought  my  frivolity  had  given 
pain  to  any  one.'  My  disposition  Avas  A'cry  different :  I  Avas 
romantic,  sentimental,  and  grave;  and  our  mutual  friendship 
seemed  to  mould  our  differences  into  AA'hat  Avas  good  for  both. 
"\Ve  never  differed  in  opinion  but  Avith  rencAved  friendsliip  as 
its  consequence.  Thus  far  of  your  dear  father's  partner  in 
early  life.  Her  cheerfulness  tempered  his  solemnity,  but  never 
stood  in  the  Avay  of  right.  His  mind  Avas  honored  by  all  Avho 
IcncAv  him,  and  rightly  appreciated  by  his  Avife.  He  Avas  ever 
a  Avarm  Methodist.  Perhaps  I  have  thought  that  his  enthusi- 
asm, as  I  first  kncAV  him  Avhen  young,  became  not  less  pure  in 
consequence  of  his  connection  in  later  days  Avith  the  Evangeli- 
cal Alliance,  breathing  a  sublime  feeling  of  unity  with  all  avIio 
love  the  Master.  I  have  also  thought  that  the  mutual  friend- 
ship of  our  husbands  Avas  favorable  to  their  respective  charac- 
ters. Your  father's  solid,  mathematical  Avay  of  thinking  and 
speaking  checked  the  exuberance  of  my  dear  husband's  imagin- 
ation and  livelmess.  Both  Avere  called  into  the  ministry  at 
the  same  time,  and  botli  became  Avhat  is  called  popular.  What 
is  more  to  be  valued,  by  the  instrumentality  of  both,  young  as 
they  Avere,  the  Church  Avas  edified  and  multiplied.  3Iy  oavu 
husband,  your  dear  mother  admitted  in  one  of  our  friendly 
controA'ersies,  preached  at  times  A'ery  great  sermons,  but  she 
added, '  My  husband  never  preaches  a  little  one.'  I  could  not 
contradict  her,  though  I  did  not,  at  the  moment,  quite  relish 
the  imputation  conveyed.     It  has  ever  been  pleasant  to  me  to 


30G  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

feel  assured  tliat  tin.'  iVieiulsliip  of  our  Iiusbaiids  continued  un- 
abated to  the  end  of  one  life,  and  I  doubt  not  the  recollection 
of  its  early  formation  and  long  continuance  gratefully  remained 
on  the  mind  of  the  other  during  his  few  remaining  years.  Our 
families  were  dis})ersed,  but  were  never  heard  of,  in  weal  or 
woe,  but  with  warm  interest  on  both  sides.  I  have  Uved  re- 
tired for  some  years,  and  have  seen  Uttle  of  your  dear  father, 
of  his  children,  or  of  the  respectable  lady  who  solaced  his  lat- 
ter days ;  but  his  children  are  never  mentioned  in  my  hearing 
without  producing  a  warm  interest  in  their  i)resent  and  future 
welfare,  and  a  recurrence  to  some  of  the  many  conversations  I 
have  had  Avith  their  dear  mother  on  their  hopes  for  this  life 
and  for  that  to  come.  That  mother  and  the  fathers  of.  our 
children  are  gone.  I  remain  alone.  No,  not  alone;  for  the 
Husband  of  the  widow  and  the  Father  of  the  fatherless  is  ever 
near  me.  May  Jabez  Bunting  and  llobert  Newton  and  their 
children's  molliers  meet  in  heaven  !'' 

While  stationed  in  the  Sheffield  circuit  my  father  preached 
on  five  hundred  and  sixteen  occasions.  I  conclude  the  chapter 
with  James  Montgomery's  estimate  of  the  general  character  of 
his  ministry:  "lie  is  a  great  man:  he  delivers  the  most  im- 
portant scriptural  truths  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  appear 
plain  and  familiar ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  some  of  his  intelli- 
gent hearers  are  occasionally  almost  tempted  to  believe  they 
could  themselves  do  what  he  does  with  so  nuich  apparent  ease ; 
yet  they  are  very  nuich  mistaken ;  for  that  very  simplicity  of 
language,  which  involves  so  much  fullness  and  fitness  of  tliought, 
shows  also  how  perfectly  the  preacher  has  attained  that '  art  to 
conceal  art,'  which  is  the  result  of  successful  study.  I  heard 
liim  constantly  when  he  Avas  stationed  at  Shetlield  several  years 
since,  and  still  remember  many  of  his  sermons." 


UlS   EAKLY   MlNlSTliY   AT  LIVEKrouL.  307 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HIS   IlAELY   MINISTRY   AT  LIVERPOOL. 

Appointment  to  Liverpool. — William  Bramwell. — James  Buckley. — Suc- 
cessful Ministiy. — Correspondence. — His  own  Letters  as  to  teaching  Writ- 
ing on  the  Sabbath. — Letters  from  Moore  on  miscellaneous  Topics. — Dr. 
Magee's  Attack  upon  the  Methodists. — The  Case  of  Brighouse  Chapel. — 
Management  of  the  Connectional  Funds. — Thomas  Rankin's  Bequests. — 
The  Death  of  Robert  Lomas. — The  Conference  of  1810. — Dr.  Clarke's 
Commentary. — Letters  from  Edward  Hare  and  Robert  Newton. — The  In- 
fluence of  Trustees  over  Church  Management. — Lord  Sidmouth's  Bill. — 
Richard  Watson.— The  Use  of  Organs  and  of  Liturgies. — The  Confer- 
ence of  1811. 

At  Li\erpool,  to  wliicli  tOAvn  my  father  removed  soon  after 
tlie  Conference  of  1809,  he  was  placed  under  the  supermtend- 
ence  of  William  Bramwell,  succeeded,  during  the  second  year, 
by  Joseph  Entwisle.  James  Bogie  and  the  elder  Theophilus 
Lessey  Avere  his  colleagues,  the  latter  subsequently  exchanged 
for  James  Buckley.  These  names  must  be  passed  over  in  al- 
most total  silence.  Bramwell  has  been  before  mentioned,  and 
his  occasional  disregard  of  those  laAvs  of  order  and  of  peace 
Avhich  are  essential  to  the  unity  and  usefulness  of  the  Church 
can  never  obliterate  from  its  grateful  memory  his  deep  piety 
and  fervent  zeal.  A  biography  might  still  be  written  of  him 
which  should  exhibit  his  example  to  the  imitation  of  the  Meth- 
odist people,  without,  on  the  one  hand,  any  enthusiastic  eulogy 
of  his  defects,  or,  on.  the  other,  too  much  effort  to  conceal  them. 
In  the  delineation  of  the  character  of  good  men,  it  is  well  to 
state  it  just  as  it  is.  The  most  obvious  errors,  while  they  show 
the  natural  tendency  of  the  mind,  show,  also,  and  make  conspic- 
uous, the  better  quahties,  innate  or  ingrafted,  Avhich,  on  the 
Avhole,  prevailed.  The  stern  and  ascetic  revivalist  at  Liver- 
pool, someAA'hat  apt  to  believe  that  great  gifts  and  great  graces 
Avere  never  bestOAved  upon  the  same  minister,  soon  found  out 
that  his  young  colleague  Avas  at  least  as  zealous  as  himself,  and 
Avas  delighted  Avith  the  visible  success  Avhich  attended  the  com- 
mon labors  of  the  co-pastorate.     Even  as  to  his  OAvn  Avonder- 


308  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

fill  power  of  storming  the  consciences  of  careless  sinners,  Bram- 
MC'll  rejoiced  to  know  tliat  ho  did  not  stand  alone,  or,  indeed, 
])re-eniinent  among  tliem. 

For  iu)tices  of  ]iO(;iK  and  of  Lkssey,  the  latter  name  render- 
ed more  famous  by  the  son  than  by  the  father,  I  must  refer  to 
the  usual  channels  of  information.  Both  were  of  longer  min- 
isterial standing  than  my  father,  and,  though  he  contracted  for 
them  a  lasting  respect,  no  very  close  intimacy  resulted  from  tlie 
connection. 

It  was  otherwise  in  the  case  of  James  Buckley,  who  be- 
came, and  to  the  time  of  his  death  continued,  one  of  my  father's 
most  affectionate  and  trusty  friends.  To  those  who  were  fa- 
miliar Avith  Buckley's  reiinemcnt  both  of  manner  and  of  char- 
acter, it  was  a  surprise  to  hear  that  he  sprang  from  an  obscure 
family  in  a  district  of  Lancashire,  Avhich,  during  his  childhood 
and  early  training,  was  as  imcivilized  as  could  be  found  in 
Christian  England.  But  he  inherited  the  good  sense  and 
shrewdness  of  his  race;  and,  when  grace  polished  the  diamond, 
it  Avas  Avorthy  of  a  better  setting  than  the  conditions  and  con- 
tingencies of  the  Methodist  itinerancy  sometimes  ])ermitted. 
Ilis  brethren,  hoAVCA'er,  loA'ed  him,  and  kncAV  his  Avorth,  and,  by 
their  influence,  he  Avas  introduced  to  j»ositions  of  great  import- 
ance, Avhich  he  ahvays  Avorthily  sustained.  His  settlement  in 
South  AVales,  after  forty-tAvo  years'  service,  removed  him  from 
general  observation,  and  inferior  men  of  his  standing  are  bet- 
ter knoAA'n  to  this  generation.  The  last  Conference  he  attend- 
ed Avas  that  Avhich  commemorated  the  centenary  of  ^Methodism. 
lie  Avas  j»resent  at  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lortl's  Suppi-r,  admin- 
istered, as  is  usual,  at  the  close  of  the  session.  The  same  even- 
ing he  fell  ill,  and  in  a  few  days  "the  end"  of  the  "upright" 
man  Avas  once  more  acknoAvledged  to  be  "peace." 

The  two  years  s))ent  by  my  father  at  Liver j>ool  among  a  kind 
and  an  intelligent  i)eo])le  Averc  some  of  the  hapj)iest  of  his  early 
ministry.  Though  yet  young,  he  had  felt  his  groimd.  His 
])OI)ularity  as  a  ])reacher,  and  his  high  connectional  position — 
]>cihaj)s,  more  than  both,  the  s( niggles  through  Avhich  he  had 
])assed  in  his  preceding  circuit — had  forced  on  him  some  know  1- 
edge  of  his  ])OAvers,  and,  by  increasing  his  sense  of  responsiltil- 
ity,  had  put  liim  upon  more  A'igorous  effort  to  serve  the  Church. 
The  local  results  are,  to  a  large  extent,  liarvested  in  Paradise. 


HIS   EARLY  MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  300 

Some,  however,  who,  by  liis  "mouth,  lieard  llie  word  of  tlie 
the  Gospel"  and  beheved,  "rcniahi  to  this  jirescnt;"  and,  hav- 
ing long  studied  the  life  of  their  spiritual  father,  have  now 
learned  the  impressive  lessons  of  his  death.  I  have  read  of  the 
funerals  of  barbarian  chiefs  round  which  were  gathered  not  only 
their  own  mourning  kinsmen,  but  those  also  of  multitudes  of 
murdered  slaves ;  slain,  if  to  give  a  deeper  pathos  to  the  jHiblic 
sorrow,  yet  chiefly  to  surround  the  spirit  in  another  world  with 
the  "pomp  and  circumstance"  to  which  it  was  accustomed  here. 
So  "  the  tender  mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel,"  and  Super- 
stition ■WTites  its  most  touching  fictions  in  letters  of  blood.  But, 
"in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  at  His  coming,"  how 
stately  a  retinue  will  attend  him  who  has  recently  de])arted! — 
the  triumphant  Savior,  indeed,  claiming  as  His  own,  and  gath- 
ering around  His  blessed  Person  not  only  "  the  Avhole,  family" 
of  the  "  children"  "  given"  Him,  but  every  "  good  and  faithful 
servant"  recognizing  the  converts  of  his  uidividual  ministry  as 
his  "  glory  and  joy." 

Extracts  from  my  father's  correspondence  must  now  be  still 
fewer  and  more  brief.  It  refers  to  almost  every  conceivable 
subject.  The  spiritual  and  financial  state  of  the  connection ; 
tidings  from  former  circuits;  news  of  events  of  national  con- 
cern ;  applications  for  assistance  on  charitable  occasions ;  spec- 
ulations in  theology;  offers  to  cxi)lain  the  Book  of  the  Revela- 
tion ;  strictures  on  sermons,  on  the  pulpit-mamier  of  the  preach- 
er, and  on  the  dress  or  demeanor  of  himself  and  his  wife,  in- 
fimts,  and  domestics ;  suggestions  as  to  the  pointed  application 
of  discourses  to  persons  who  were  to  be  brought  to  hear 
them  ;*  challenges  to  public  discussion  by  all  kinds  of  petty 

*  Take  a.  specimen:  "Did  I  not  feel  in  my  own  mind  a  certainty  that 
you  would  kindly  pardon  the  liberty  I  am  taking  in  thus  addressing  you,  I 
should  not  presume  to  trouble  you.  I  will  rely  on  your  good-nature  to  ex- 
cuse mc  when  you  consider  the  motive  by  which  I  am  actuated.     I  have 

lately  had  a  conversation  with  a  friend  of  mine  (an  officer  in  the ), 

and  have  at  last  so  fiir  got  tlie  better  of  his  almost  unconquerable  jircjudices 

as  to  have  obtained  his  ])romise  to  accompany  mo  this  evening  to 

Street  Chapel.  Knowing  something  of  his  disposition,  I  presume  to  trouble 
you  with  his  symptoms,  which  you  will  notice  or  not,  as  seems  best  to  your 
better  judgment.  lie  is  much  ]irejudiced  against  the  Methodists.  He  is 
loyal  to  his  king,  I  believe,  but  doubts  their  loyrdfy;  has  a  good  share  of 
personal  consequence  and  jiride,  nnd  seems  to  believe  religion  well  enough 


oiO  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

sectaries,  backcil  by  all  kinds  of  threats,  entreaties,  and  entice- 
ments ;  communications  from  young  preachers  inviting  notice, 
and  asking  advice  as  to  the  conduct  of  their  studies;  conject- 
ures, exitectations,  and  sometimes  expressions  of  anxious  de- 
sire as  to  the  future  statit)ns  of  ministers ;  stories  of  small  feuds 
between  great  men,  forgotten  by  the  parties  tliemselves  before 
tlie  ink  was  dry  ;  inquiries  as  to  the  price  of  timber  at  the  port, 
clieap  chapels  being  in  requisition  ;  endeavors  to  ascertahi  the 
character  and  circumstances  of  the  Avriters  of  begging-letters, 
for  the  guidance  of  cautious  givers  at  a  distance;  strictft/ ])ri- 
vate  inquiries  as  to  the  eligibility  of  young  ladies  for  the  itin- 
erancy;  projects  of  all  sorts  of  institutions,  literary,  benevolent, 
and  religious ;  solicitations  of  patronage  from  authors  as  yet 
unsuccessful,  and  from  very  enterprising  publishers ;  announce- 
ments of  births,  marriages,  and  deaths,  of  persons  known  and 
unknown,  of  all  ages,  and  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  each  re- 
quiritig  a  suitable  and  immediate  reply  of  congratulation  or  of 
condolence — this  is  a  very  imperfect  index  to  the  letters  which 
lie  before  the  biographer  of  any  man  who  occupied  a  position 
such  as  that  now  filled  by  my  father.  Some  have  spoken  to 
me  since  I  began  to  write  these  volumes  as  if  the  examination 
of  his  papers,  accumulated  during  sixty  years,  must  necessarily 

for  the  vulgar;  boliovcs  himself  as  pood  as  other  peo])le ;  allows  it  would  bo 
as  well  not  to  pet  drunk  quite  so  often  or  to  swear  so  mueh  ;  seems  to  have 
no  fear  but  he  will  go  to  heaven  ;  does  not  want  common  sense.  I  think  ho 
seemed  most  to  notice  what  I  said  of  religion  increasing  instead  of  dimin- 
ishing our  comforts,  and  that  it  did  not  forbid  us  to  smile.  I  fancied  he 
listened  with  a  good  deal  of  attention,  and  a  tincture  of  alarm,  at  what  I 
said  of  the  certaintj-  of  death  and  judgment,  and  the  happiness  of  heaven 
or  the  torments  of  hell,  and  that  wc  must  choose  one  or  the  other.  He  ar- 
sures  mc  that,  when  he  gets  old,  he  shall  probably  consider  this  sort  (  f 
things,  but  that  y<jung  ])eople  have  no  business  to  think  on  such  melancholy 
subjects,  as  it  only  hurts  their  spirits.  Again  entreating  your  forgiveness 
for  thus  trespassing  upon  your  time,  and  ])raying  you  may  say  something 
that  may  penetrate  to  ids  heart,  allow  me  to  subscribe  myself,"  etc.  I  have 
a  great  respect  for  the  writer  of  this  letter.  But.  as  a  rule,  would  it  be  wise 
to  try  so  to  point  public  discourse  as  to  strike  individuals  rather  than  clnss- 
os  ?  There  are  popular  preachers  nowadays  who  are  never  haj)py  except 
when  they  are  making  some  hearer  believe  that  they  know  the  deepest  se- 
crets of  his  conscience,  and  are  able  to  assure  him  of  his  personal,  fatal,  and 
inevitable  doom.  Surely  what  God  has  not  told  to  them  they  can  not  tell 
to  others.  And  can  any  thing  more  deeply  degrade  the  ordinance  of 
preaching  than  such  random  methods  of  trying  to  do  good? 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  oil 

liave  revealed  to  mc  secrets  -whidi  not  prudence  merely,  but 
the  honor  of  religion  and  of  ^Methodism,  would  require  me  to 
preserve  inviolate.  It  is  right  that  I  should  state,  in  one  ex- 
plicit sentence,  that  very  few  secrets  have  been  discovered ; 
and,  with  the  exception  of  cases  of  evil  which,  sooner  or  later, 
have  become  notorious,  scarcely  one  of  which  even  an  uncan- 
did  reader  could  take  mischievous  advantage.  Certainly  the 
correspondence  might  be  published  Avithout  any  imputation 
upon  the  piu-ity  and  disinterestedness  of  the  very  large  num- 
ber of  persons  sustaining  a  Christian  reinitation  with  whom  my 
father  had  to  deal. 

Letters  from  Hare  and  Grindrod  became,  from  this  date,  very 
long  and  numerous,  and,  though  but  few  of  my  father's  replies 
are  preserved,  they  were  punctual  and  communicative.  With 
Griffith,  Entwisle,  and  Marsden,  the  accustomed  interchange 
of  information  and  of  opinions  still  continued. 

During  the  first  few  months  of  my  father's  appointment  to 
Liverpool,  Hare's  letters  related  chielly  to  the  subject  Avhich 
had  given  my  father  so  much  trouble  in  his  former  circuit. 
The  advocates  of  teaching  writing  on  the  Sunday  gathered 
round  Mr.  Mylcs,  and  that  easy  superintendent  not  only  con- 
ceded the  matter  in  dispute,  but  altered  his  own  views,  and,  by 
all  the  means  which  the  Constitution  placed  Avithin  his  power, 
and  by  some  which  he  improvised  for  the  occasion,  favored  the 
few  factious  men  Avhom  my  lather  had  successfully  confronted. 
Some  of  them  had  been  dismissed  from  the  society;  but  Mr. 
Myles,  within  a  fortnight  after  my  fiither's  removal,  procured 
the  tacit  consent  of  the  leaders'  meeting  to  their  readmittance, 
on  condition  that,  for  the  future,  they  promised  submission  to 
authority,  and  that  they  made  a  suitable  apology  to  the  minis- 
ter Avho  had  left  them  for  various  acts  of  impertinence  and  of 
mjury  which  he  had  suftered  at  their  hands.  Hare,  who  re- 
mained in  the  circuit,  together  with  Valentine  Ward  and  Da- 
vid M'NicoU,  who  had  just  arrived,  after  vainly  plying  the 
chief  minister  Avith  arguments  and  expostulations,  deemed  it 
best  to  sit  by  in  indignant  silence,  and  to  permit  him  to  pursue 
his  OAvn  course.  The  schools  originally  commenced  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  judgment  of  the  regular  circuit  tribunal  were  now 
taken  imder  its  patronage,  and  the  protest  so  boldly  made 
against  the  violation  of  the  Sabbath  seemed,  for  the  time,  to 
have  been  utterly  throAvu  aAvay. 


312  THE  LIFE   OF  JA15EZ   liUNTING. 

The  nialcoiitc'iils  liad  no  difficulty  in  tendering  a  fresh  adhe- 
sion to  tlie  discipline  of  the  eoiniection,  hut  they  shrank  from 
the  fancied  degradation  of  apologizing  to  a  defeatetl  enemy. 
There  Avas  no  hojjc  of  inducing  the  leaders'  meeting  to  disj)ense 
with  this  condition,  and  the  superintendent  was  at  his  wits' 
end;  so  he  wrote  to  my  father,  informing  him  that  ho  had 
lieard,  through  3Ir.  Holy,  that  one  of  the  persons  concerned 
was  sorry  if  he  had  done  any  thing  wrong ;  ho])ing  the  apology 
would  be  accepted ;  expressing  his  wish  to  hear  in  reply ;  and 
concluding,  "  "We  have  had  the  best  love-feast  last  Simday  that 
ever  I  saw  in  Sheffield,  and  yesterday  Ave  had  a  very  peaceful 
and  loA'ing  Quarterly  meeting.  My  prayer  is  that  the  Lord 
may  be  with  us,  and  keep  us  from  all  evil." 

If  John  Wesley  himself  had  written  such  a  letter  as  this  to 
my  father,  it  Avould  have  been  treated. by  him  with  the  silence 
Avliich  he  observed  on  the  present  occasion.  But  to  Mr.  Hare 
and  to  Mr.  Holy  he  expressed  himself  hi  terms  Avhich  are  Avor- 
thy  of  record.  To  the  former  he  Avrotc,  on  December  23d, 
1800,  on  the  back  of  a  communication  Avhich  he  had  received 
from  Mr.  Holy : 

"My  veky  dear  BnoxiiER, — Having  just  received  this  let- 
ter from  Mr.  Holy,  I  am  inclined  to  re})ly,  but  think  it  best  to 
send  you  the  letter  first  (having  no  time  to  copy  the  material 
parts)  and  to  request  your  advice  hoAV  to  ansAver.  Tliat  ad- 
vice is  the  more  necessary,  l)ecause  I  can  not  exactly  under- 
stand Avhat  is  the  state  of  affiiirs  in  Sheffield.  I  Avish  much  to 
have  done  Avith  this  painful  business.  It  is  useless  to  protract 
the  defense  of  one  point  Avlicn  the  main  })ositious  have  been 
treacherously  surrendered.  The  idea  that  strikes  me  at  pres- 
ent is  to  tell  ]\Ir.  Holy  that  Avith  him  I  am  willing  to  communi- 
cate on  this  subject,  being  conlident  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
iriendly  professions,  and  satisfied  that  I  am  safe  in  trusting 
myself  to  a  correspondence  Avith  him ;  that  I  am  more  than 
ever  convinced  that  Sunday-school  Avriting  is  unlawful;  that  I 
am  confirmed  in  this  oj.inion  l)y  the  coucm-rent  judgment  of 
such  men  as  Benson,  Moore,  Wood,  Joscj)!!  Taylor,  Griffitli, 
Lomas,  and  almost  all  the  leading  seniors  in  our  OAvn  connec- 
tion, and  by  that  of  some  of  the  most  respectable  clergymen  in 
the  Establishment  and  dissenting  bodies  in  various  parts  of  the 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  313 

kingdom,  wlio,  liaving  lienrcl  of  wliat  lias  passed,  have  volun- 
tarily conveyed  to  me  their  sentiments  of  approval  of  our  con- 
duct, and  of  regret  that  what  they  consider  as  an  awful  abuse 
of  the  Sabbath  should  be  defended  by  any  who  profess  Chris- 
tianity; that  even  most  of  those  who,  if  the  subject  had  been 
resumed  and  decided  at  our  Conference,  would  have  voted 
against  a  minute  requiring  our  people  to  abandon  the  practice, 
"would  yet  have  been  heartily  glad  that  the  people  themselves, 
or  a  majority  of  them,  should  be  brought,  of  themselves,  and 
"without  the  interference  of  the  Conference,  to  exchange  Sim- 
day  writing  for  week-day  writing;  that  I  consider  some  of  the 
measures  pursued  at  Sheffield  since  the  Conference  to  have  be- 
trayed toward  our  friends  a  spirit  of  downright,  barefaced  per- 
secution, and  that  for  conscience'  sake,  which  is  highly  disgrace- 
ful to  the  parties  concerned  in  it,  but  worthy  of  men  whose 
only  steady  principle  is  policy,  and  Avho  have  notoriously  sac- 
rificed consistency  and  friendship  to  convenience  and  to  fac- 
tion ;  that,  however  men  may  change,  truth  and  the  fourth 
commandment  change  not ;  and  that  I,  as  well  as  those  who 
acted  with  me,  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  our  work 
is  with  the  Lord,  and  our  judgment  not  with  our  opponents 
and  calunmiators,  but  Avith  our  God  ;  that,  as  to  that  part  of 

the  business  Avhich  is  personal  between and  myself,  it 

Avas  not  I,  but  a  full  leaders'  meeting,  that  made  an  apology  to 
me  the  condition  of  his  readmission  ;  that,  in  point  of  fact,  to 
me  he  has  yet  made  nothing  like  apology,  but  that  I  have  not, 
nor  ever  had,  any  personal  ill-will  toward  him ;  and  that,  if  tlie 
leaders  themselves  think  proper  to  forgive  him  without  his  ful- 
filling the  condition  of  making  an  apology  to  me,  I  have  no 
disposition  to  obstruct  the  extension  of  their  mercy  to  him. 
Of  my  forgiveness  he  may  rest  assured,  and  of  my  best  Avishes 
for  his  present  and  eternal  happiness.  Will  this  do  ?  If  it 
Avill,  shall  I  send  it  to  Mr.  Holy,  or  directly  to  the  leaders  ? 
Will  the  latter  plan  of  acting  be  imconstitutional,  or  do  more 
harm  than  good  ?  Write  freely  by  return  of  post,  and  inclose 
this  letter  in  yours.  You  see  my  Avish.  I  Avould  end  the  bus- 
iness in  a  peaceable,  yet  bold,  honest,  and  spirited  Avay. 
"  I  am,  as  ever,  your  very  affectionate,  J.  Bunting." 

To  Mr.  Holy  he  Avrote:  "There  is  one  part  of  vour  letter  to 
Vol.  I.— O 


31-i  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

■which  you  probiiLly  expect  that  I  sliouM  return  some  answer. 
It  relates  to  a  topic  -which  is  to  me  (.•xtreinely  unpleasant,  and 
on  which,  in  f\ict,  I  had  determined  that  I  would  not  again 
M-rite  at  lar<;e  to  any  person  in  Sheffield,  unless  regularly  and 
officially  called  upon  to  do  so.  Mr.  Myles's  letter  I  do  not  con- 
sider as  an  official  call.     It  did  uot  convey  to  nie  the  idea  that 

Mr. 's  restoration  is  yet  suspended,  as  you  seem  now  to 

intimate  that  it  is,  on  my  acceptance  of  an  apology  to  be  made 
by  him  to  me,  but  merely  informs  nic  of  the  now  measures 
which  have  been  adopted  in  the  Sheffield  school  since  Con- 
ference— mentions,  among  other  things,  Avhat  Mr. said  to 

you  on  the  20tli  of  September,  and  then  simply  adds,  '  Thus 
we  have  endeavored  to  end  our  Tinhap^jy  disputes.'  Of  course 
I  inferred  that  those  disputes  were  ended,  and  I  had  no  dis- 
position to  revive  them  by  discussing  the  justice  or  injustice, 
the  fitness  or  unfitness  of  that  end.  It  is  true,  ]Mr.  Myles  does 
say  in  his  postscript, '  I  hope  you  will  accept  of  jMr. 's  apol- 
ogy.'    But  I  have  not  yet  received  one  single  line  of  apology 

from  ]\[r. .     lie  has  never  Avritten  to  me  at  all  since  I  left 

Sheffield.  Of  mo,  indeed,  he  and  some  others  of  his  j)arty  did 
write  to  the  Conference,  making  statements  which  were  not 
correct.  But,  notwithstanding  this  fresh  attempt  to  injui-e  me, 
if  he  liad  written  to  mc,  as  the  leaders  required,  ho  should  still 
have  seen  that,  according  to  my  former  promise,  I  would  not 
have  exacted  from  him  any  very  hard  or  difficult  concessions ; 
and  I  can  not  help  expressing  to  you  some  surprise  that,  if  he 
be  so  penitent  as  is  represented,  ho  should  not  at  once  have 
evinced  that  penitence  by  complying  with  the  requisition  of 
the  leaders'  meeting,  held  July  17th,  Avhich  requisition  runs 
thus:  'Tli.'it  he  apologize  to  I\Ir.  Bunting,  if  ^Mr.  Bunting  bo  liv- 
ing, for  liis  ill-natured  and  false  insinuation  concerning  him  in 
the  meeting  of  the  leaders  on  Monday,  May  Sth,'  Having  then, 
as  yet,  no  official  call  to  Avrito  on  this  subject,  I  think  myself 
at  liberty  to  decline  any  correspon(b'nce  with  Mr.  IMyles  re- 
specting it.  lie  does  me  the  honor,  indeed,  to  intimate,  in  the 
postscript  above-mentioned,  that  he  would  be  'glad  to  liear 
from'  me  ;  but,  considering  that,  if  I  AVTote  to  him  at  all  under 
present  circumstances,  some  notice  of  this  business  would  be 
unnvoi(l;ible,  I  judged  it  best,  on  the  whole,  to  c<;iisign  it  to 
Kilence  and  oblivion ;  and  nothing  but  my  great  personal  re- 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  315 

spect  for  yourself  would  have  induced  me  even  now  to  enter 
into  this  explanation  of  my  conduct.  By  my  God,  and  by  those 
who  have  known  every  thing  connected  with  this  aft'air  from 
its  beginning  to  its  end,  I  have  no  doubt  that  ray  silence  to  Mr. 
Myles  will  not  be  blamed  ;  it  is  no  small  proof  of  my  wish  to 
'  follow  peace  with  all  men.'  So  much  about  not  having  an- 
swered Mr.  Myles's  letter.     As  to  Mr. ,  I  must  now  farther 

observe  that  it  Avas  not  I,  but  a  leaders'  meeting  (with  only  five 
dissenting  votes),  who,  of  their  own  accord,  and  from  their 
full  conviction  of  the  false  and  injurious  nature  of  the  language 
used  concerning  me  in  their  presence,  insisted  on  an  apology 
from  him  to  me  as  one  condition  of  his  readmission.  This 
requisition  of  theirs,  above  exactly  quoted,  certainly  demands 
a  mode  of  reparation  very  different  from  any  thing  which  has 
yet  been  offered.  Now  I  have  no  power  to  annul  the  solemn 
and  repeated  decision  of  a  competent  and  Methodistical  tribu- 
nal, nor  can  I  see  it  right  to  tease  and  weary  them  into  a  third 
trial  of  the  same  cause  after  their  regular  and  conscientious 
adjudication  of  it.  Yet  you,  as  a  friend,  will  say  that,  as  I  have 
not,  nor  ever  had,  any  personal  ill-will  to  Mr. ,  if  the  lead- 
ers themselves  are  of  opinion  that  they  can  justly  and  right- 
eously revoke  their  former  spontaneous  resolution,  or  alter  the 
terms  and  tenor  of  it,  I  have  not  the  inclination,  Avhatever  right 
I  might  plead,  to  arrest  theoperation  of  their  clemency.  This 
is  for  them  to  consider ;  and  be  the  responsibility  theirs,  not 

mine.     In  any  case,  Mr. may  rest  assured  of  my  hearty 

forgiveness,  and  of  my  best  wishes  for  his  present  and  eternal 
happiness.  While  I  thus  disclaim  the  intention  of  preferring 
any  appeal  against  any  future  proceedmg  of  the  leaders'  meet- 
ing on  that  part  of  the  business  which  is  personal  between  me 

and  Mr. ,  I  owe  it  to  truth  and  conscience  at  the  same 

time  to  declare  that,  as  to  the  grand  point  in  dispute,  my  judg- 
ment remains  unaltered.  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  by 
an  examination  of  the  Bible,  and  by  an  inquiry  into  facts,  that 
the  practice  of  teaching  writing  and  arithmetic  on  the  Lord's 
day  is  imnecessary,  inexpedient,  mischievous,  and,  above  all, 
imlawful ;  that  it  is  not  a  trivial  evil,  but  in  its  consequences 
and  tendencies  one  of  the  most  serious  magnitude ;  and  that 
an  enlightened  regard  even  to  the  temporal  advantage,  and 
much  more  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  rising  generation 


316  THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

themselves,  as  well  as  our  obligation  to  obey  with  literal  accu- 
racy the  whole  revealed  law  of  God,  would  suggest  that  all 
secular  arts  should  be  taught  on  week-day  evenings  only  to 
those  who  regularly  attend  for  still  higlier  purposes  ui  the 
Lord's-day  schools.  In  this  opinion  I  am  confirmed  by  the 
sentiments  which  were  avowed  at  oiu-  last  Conference  by  Messrs. 
Benson,  Moore,  Clarke,  James  Wood,  Joseph  T.aylor,  Griffith, 
Barber,  Lomas,  and  others,  especially  of  our  senior  teachers, 
and  by  the  concurring  judgment  of  the  most  judicious  and 
pious  clergymen  of  the  Establishment  and  Dissenting  ministers 
of  the  greatest  eminence  in  this  kingdom  ;  some  of  whom, 
having  heard  of  what  has  been  done  and  undojie  at  Sheffield, 
liave  within  the  last  four  months  voluntarily  communicated  to 
me  their  feelings  of  deep  surprise  and  regret  that  what  they 
consider  as  so  great  an  abuse  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  should 
be  defended  or  practiced  by  any  serious  })eople.  Such,  then, 
as  was  my  opuiion,  such  is  my  opinion  still ;  for  I  trust  in 
God's  mercy  ever  to  save  me  from  tlie  guilt  of  sacrificing  prin- 
ciple to  policy,  conscience  to  custom,  or  consistency  and  friend- 
ship to  convenience  and  faction.  Having  thus  told  you,  my 
dear  sir,  all  that  is  in  my  heart,  Avilh  that  frankness  which  a 
friend  has  a  right  to  expect,  and  which  becomes  a  man  per- 
suaded that  he  has  God's  unchanged  and  unchangeable  com- 
mandment on  his  side,  I  now  take  leave  of  the  subject,  sincerely 
Aoping  that  not  even  the  attention  due  to  one  whom  I  so  much 
respect  as  yourself  will  render  it  necessary  ever  again  to  recur 
to  it.  AVhether  you  show  to  any  other  person  this  private 
conmiimication  written  solely  for  your  own  eye,  and  designed 
to  explain  and  justify  to  your  own  mind  my  conduct  and  views, 
must  be  left  to  your  discretion.  But  I  do  most  particularly 
request  and  urge  that,  if  it  be  shown  at  all,  the  whole  of  this 
letter,  and  not  any  partial  extract  of  its  contents,  may  be  di- 
vulged. Excuse  the  trouble  of  this  long  epistle,  which  I  do 
assure  you  it  can  not  be  more  unpleasant  for  you  to  read  than 
it  has  been  for  me  to  write ;  and  belicAe  that  I  am,  with  my 
own  and  my  wife's  aflfectionate  regards  to  yourself,  Mrs.  IL, 
and  your  daughters,  with  best  love  to  all  my  Sheffield  friends, 
of  Avhom  I  often  think  Avith  much  esteem,  and  Avith  Christian 
good-will  even  to  my  Sheffield  opjioncnts,  persecutors,  and 
slanderers,  your  obhged  and  very  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

"  J.  BUXTING." 


HIS   EARLY  MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  317 

T\vo  very  characteristic  letters  from  Mr.  Moore,  from  which 
I  give  extracts  (but  Avithout  indorsing  his  opinions),  relate  to 
controversies  which  subsisted  between  him  and  some  eminent 
laymen  in  the  metropolis  relative  to  his  desire,  and  to  their  dis- 
like, that  he  should  be  appointed  to  the  City  Road  Circuit.  It 
appears  that  the  subject  had  been  mentioned  at  the  preceding 
Conference,  and  that  my  father's  sentiments,  as  there  express- 
ed, were  much  to  the  writer's  satisfaction.  "  I  liave  preached 
at  the  NcAv  Chapel,  and  there  is  at  least  no  outward  hostility. 
But  still  my  mind  is  very  sore.  I  think  it  bodes  no  good  to  the 
work  or  servants  of  God  when  such  a  process  is  needful  for  a 
Methodist  preacher  respecting  a  Methodist  chapel.  I  could 
not,  without  losing  a  pure  conscience,  keep  any  preacher  out 
of  any  chapel  to  which  I  was  appointed,  unless  an  accusation 
were  preferred,  and  pending  the  regular  hearing  of  that  accu- 
sation. I  am  certain  the  local  preachers  or  leaders  of  London 
would  not  suffer  any  of  their  body  to  be  thus  treated.  They 
would  feel  it  as  their  own  cause.  Ought  Ave  not  to  have  the 
same  feeling  ?  A  superior  feeling  ?  Our  calling  is  the  high- 
est, and  all  nmst  stand  or  fall  Avith  us.  Yet  my  brethren  Avould 
ahvays  consider  it  as  a  personal  thing — as  my  affair.  I  ahvays 
looked  upon  it  as  a  bloAV  at  the  root.  I  really  fear  that,  Avhen 
a  fcAv  are  gone  hence  Avho  kncAv  Mr.  Wesley  and  Avhat  Meth- 
odism AA'as,  the  Conference  Avill  become  a  very  servdle  assembly 
— something  like  a  Yorkshire  statute — a  place  to  be  hired  at. 
What  will  the  Avork  be  then  ?  Will  it  be  the  Avork  of  God  ? 
Who  AA-ill  ansAver  for  this  imscriptural  change  ?  I  shall  be  hap- 
py if  this  affair  should  make  the  preachers  think,  and  operate 
as  a  check  to  this  creeping  system  of  degradation.  I  have  not 
forgotten,  my  dear  brother,  your  generous  conduct  at  the  Con- 
ference. It  had  more  than  kindness  in  it.  It  tended  to  infuse 
a  good  spirit.     But  I  must  have  done." 

And  again :  "  I  did  not  thhik  of  troubUng  you  so  soon,  but  I 
have  ncAvs  that  will  not  trouble  you,  but  give  you  joy.  Last 
Monday  the  case  of  the  Brighouse  Chapel  Avas  determined  in 
our  favor !  It  Avas  decided  in  the  clearest,  most  peremptory 
manner,  that  the  old  Conference,  as  it  Avas  called,  alone  had  the 
right  of  appointing  the  mmisters  Avho  should  occupy  and  enjoy 
the  premises  for  the  purposes  secured  in  the  deed.  I  think  I 
see  in  this  the  daAA'u  of  good  days.    We  need  no  more  be  sub- 


S18  TlIK   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   JiUNTING. 

joct  to  the  will  of  man  than  to  the  Avill  of  Satan.  Sic  volo,  sic 
jtibeo,  sUt  ])ro  ratione  vduntds!  I  have  seen  not  a  little  of 
this  since  I  came  hither,  as  well  as  in  some  other  ])laces  ;  and 
we  seemed  to  have  only  the  alternative  to  qnarrel  or  to  be  serv- 
ile ;  conscqnently,  not  be  holy.  What  an  alternative  to  a  man 
who  loves  peace,  and  is  commanded  to  follow  at^er  it !  How 
I  have  been  sawn  asunder  by  it,  the  Lord  only  knows.  My  jjoor 
shattered  nerves  made  the  trial  a  lieavy  one.  I  snpposc  you  re- 
member that  Mr.  Sharp,  one  of  the  Brighousc  trustees  on  our 
side,  put  into  the  bill  a  clauu  of  Ids  own  to  certjun  buildings 
erected  by  him  on  the  premises.  Ilis  cause  Avas  not  determined 
in  that  absolute  manner  that  ours  was.  It  Avas  ordered  that 
the  parties  should  go  before  a  Master,  and  show  if  those  build- 
ings Avere  erected  according  to  the  trust ;  and  that  it  should  be 
decided  in  that  Avay,  and  that  they  should  be  used  according  as 
the  deed  ordains.  A  just  decree!  I  can  not  but  look  ujjon  all 
this  as  floAving  from  the  goodness  of  our  Avise  and  holy  God, 
and  that  it  is  His  intimation  that  Methodism  should  not  be  sec- 
ularized. Puritanism  Avas  brought  low  by  secular  men ;  so  Avill 
I\Iethodism  be,  if  Ave  are  not  faithful.  I  could  say  much  to  Avhat 
you  say  about  the  right  of  our  good  and  nu)dest  iieoi)le  to  state 
their  desires  to  the  Conference,  if  I  thought  the  Avind  did  not 
bloAV  from  the  opposite  point.  I  could  lie  at  the  feet  of  such 
people  forever.  As  to  Sunday-schools,  I  have  been  some  time 
couA  inced  that,  in  the  Avay  they  arc  conducted,  they  operate 
against  the  spirituality  of  the  Church.  I  am  quite  confirmed  hi 
this  since  I  came  to  London.  What  a  figure  do  many  make 
lierein  that  arc  utterly  dead  to  God !  and,  if  a  i)reacher  me<hlle 
Avith  them,  they  are  up  in  arras  directly.  Till  I  see  better  days, 
I  shall  meddle  Avith  them  as  little  as  possible.  I  see  no  trem- 
bling '  at  God's  Word'  among  them.  I  Avas  much  surprised  at 
your  question  to  me  concerning  the  dispute  at  Sheilield.  I 
knoAV  nothing  of  the  circumstances  Avhich  you  mention  except 
from  you.  My  advice  Avas  neither  asked  nor  had.  I  only  heard 
that  there  had  been  much  troul)le  concerning  Avhat  Avas  done 
last  year,  but  that  the  Conference  having  come  to  no  determin- 
ation, matters  Avere  brought  l)ack  to  the  old  Avay  by  a  consid- 
erable majority.  But,  my  brother,  do  not  many  of  these  per- 
sons make  uj)  the  majorities  of  quarterly  meetings  in  choosing 
preachers?     The  Conference  has  risen  in  re]»utatiou  Avhh  the 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  319 

people  here  since  their  decision  respecting  rac.  It  was  thought 
they  could  not  or  dare  not  resist  the  gentlemen  of  the  New 
Chapel.  My  dear  brother,  can  you  think  that  I  find  any  happi- 
ness in  being  in  London,  and  in  such  a  fire,  except  that  which 
results  from  a  consciousness  of  duty,  and  that  public  spirit  which 
the  Lord  requires  in  all  his  servants  ?  Liverpool !  Yes,  it  was 
a  heaven  to  me,  even  while  contending  against  the  Kilhamites ; 
and  so  I  trust  it  would  be  to  me  again.  London  is  a  purgato- 
ry ;  but  I  must  not  come  out  till  I  am  called.  The  Lord  is 
with  me.'' 

Mr.  Hart  well  Home  Avrites  to  my  father  in  December,  1809, 
with  an  account  of  the  literary  engagements  to  wliich  he  is  then 
pledged,  and  thus  concludes :  "  And  now,  my  dear  sir,  give  me 
leave  to  ask,  in  my  turn,  what  are  your  pursuits  ?  Do  you  in- 
tend to  add  nothing  to  the  literary  stores  of  our  country  ?  Some 
go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  religious  Avorld  has"  some  claim  upon 
the  talents  with  which  you  have  been  endowed." 

This  letter  was  soon  followed  by  an  ajiplication  from  Mr.  Ed- 
wards, the  publisher,  to  prepare  a  series  of  Notes  on  the  Holy 
Scriptures  on  a  plan  similar  to  that  on  which  Benson  was  al- 
ready at  work.  The  very  fact  of  this  similarity  was  sufficient 
to  msure  my  father's  prompt  refusal,  in  which  he  was  counte- 
nanced by  letters  from  Griffith  and  from  Lomas.  "  Take  time 
to  weigh  the  matter,"  -writes  the  former,  "before  you  engage 
with  Mr.  Edwards,  or  any  other  bookseller  whatever.  His  urg- 
ing you  for  an  answer  in  a  very  few  days  ought  to  render  you 
tlic  more  cautious.  He  will,  no  doubt,  be  glad  to  get  you  to  en- 
gage in  the  work,  and  the  more  so  as  '  pecuniary  recompense' 
is  no  part  of  your  object,  and  '  has  not  been  stipulated  in  your 
negotiation.'  Why  should  it  not?  Why  should  you  drudge 
to  fill  his  coffers  ?  If  it  would  be  both  indecorous  and  in  itself 
improper  in  you  to  engage  in  any  thing  like  a  rival  publication 
to  that  which  Mr.  Benson  is  preparing,  supposing  your  name 
were  prefixed  to  it,  it  Avould  be  more  so,  in  my  opinion,  to  pub- 
lish one  without  your  name.  Concealment  in  matters  of  this 
kind  places  an  honest  man  in  a  very  awkward  situation.  On 
your  part,  you  are  utterly  unfit  for  it.  By  nature  and  grace 
you  are  too  honest  for  conceahnent.  Besides,  I  have  no  notion 
that  your  secret  would  be  kept.  I  have  another  objection  to 
your  acceding  to  Mr.  Edwards's  proposal.    I  think  you  are  cap- 


320  THE   LIFE   OF   JAJ3EZ   BUNTlXCr, 

able  of  doing  somt'thiiiL,^  belter  tliuu  furnishing  such  Notes  as 
Mr.  Edwards  wants.  Begin  and  prepare  full  Notes  upon  the 
Scriptures.  This  will  aftbrd  you  all  the  advantages  of  Mr.  Ed- 
wards's plan,  and  many  more.  Keview  and  mature  them  ;  and 
in  due  time  publish  them,  or  dispose  of  them  for  the  advantage 
of  your  children,  as  Avell  as  of  the  public." 

Mr.  Lomas  expresses  similar  views  in  one  of  the  last  letters 
which  he  wrote  to  my  father.  "It  appears  to  me  that  you 
have  come  to  a  proper  conclusion  respecting  Mr.  Edwards's 
work.  Let  us  do  all  the  good  Ave  can  in  our  own  way.  Let  us 
do  nothing  that  we  are  not  Avilling  should  be  known  to  our 
brethren.  But  these  are  only  my  thoughts  on  the  slightest  con- 
sideration of  the  subject,  for  I  can  not  enter  into  any  thing 
deeply.  Do  favor  me  Avith  another  letter  soon.  Thank  God, 
I  find  my  afiliction  a  great  blessing  to  my  soul.  The  Lord  is 
mine,  and  I  am  His,  and  am  at  rest.     Peace  be  Avith  you !" 

To  Mr.  Grindrod  my  father  Avrites  on  January  18th,  1810: 
"  I  like  Liverpool  much  better  than  I  expected.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting toAvn,  and  the  people  are  most  friendly  and  attentive.  I 
am  on  very  good,  but  not  intimate  terms  Avith  all  my  Avorthy  col- 
leagues. Mr.  BraraAvell  is  affectionate,  but  extremely  reserved. 
The  Avork  is  noAV  tolerably  prosperous.  At  Michaelmas  visita- 
tion appearances  Avere  discouraging;  Ave  had  no  increase  of 
members  at  all ;  but  the  Christmas  cpuirter,  by  God's  blessing, 
produced  an  accession  of  nearly  one  hundred,  besides  making 
up  the  deficiency  by  deaths,  removals,  and  apostasies.  God 
send  us  still  greater  success !  We  are  about  to  build  a  fourth 
chapel  immediately  in  the  neighborhood  of  Islington  or  the 
London  Koad.  A  handsome  subscription  is  likely  to  be  ob- 
tained." 

To  his  friend  Mr.  AYood  my  father  Avrites,  referring  to  a 
controversy  then  raging  in  i\Ianchcster  between  the  llev.  Mr. 
Smyth,*  of  the  Established  Church,  and  the  late  A'cnerablc 
AVilliam  Roby.  "  Mr.  lloby's  j)amphlet  I  have  not  yet  read. 
Accept  my  acknoAvledgments  for  your  kind  attention  in  send- 
ing it.  IIow  coolly  he  Avrites ;  and  hoAV  iiuich  does  this  give 
him  the  advantage  over  his  oi)ponent!     I  hear  ]Mr.  Smyth  is 

*  The  "  arclihishop's  nephew"  whom  Henry  Moore  went  expecting  to 
liear  pre.ach  in  Dublin,  l)nt  Brailhurn  prejiclicd  in  his  stead.  (See  page  221.) 
Mr.  Smyth  at  tliis  time  licld  an  ineiimbcncy  in  Manchester. 


HIS   EARLY  MINISTRY  AT   LIVERPOOL.  821 

preparing  an  answer.  I  liopc  lie  will  be  more  guarded  and 
temperate.  IMr.  Roby's  representation  of  Calvinism  is  Avell 
calculated  to  hide  the  real  difliculties  of  the  system,  and  ought 
to  be  refuted.  Yet  Mr.  Smyth  should  not  persist  in  charging 
modern  Calvinists  with  consequences  which  they  disclaim.  In 
the  statements  which  they  themselves  avow  there  is  good  and 
sufficient  ground  of  controversy.  As  for  me,  I  am  tired  of  war- 
fare, and  mean  to  be  as  quiet  as  duty  will  let  me  be.  If  I  do 
become  a  polemic,  it  Avill  be,  I  think,  on  the  Sunday-school 
question.  But,  strongly  as  I  feel  the  abominations  Avhich  are 
done  in  the  midst  of  us  in  that  Avay,  I  am  at  present  more  dis- 
posed, though  with  a  doubting  conscience,  to  '  sigh  and  cry'  for 
them  in  private  than  to  attack  them  in  public,  until  imperious- 
ly compelled  to  do  so." 

Mr.  Griffith  had  written,  with  Mr.  Benson's  sanction,  request- 
ing my  father  to  reply  to  some  observations  contained  in  a  note 
to  a  recent  publication  by  Dr.  Magce.  My  ftither  replies  as 
follows :  "As  to  answering  Magee,  did  you  not  know  that,  long 
before  you  wrote  to  me,  Mr.  Benson  had  applied  to  Mr.  Hare, 
who  has  nearly  completed  the  task?  My  aversion  to  author- 
ship increases.  Besides,  I  think  such  an  assailant  as  Dr.  Ma- 
gee should  have  been  met  by  one  of  our  first  men  in  point  of 
reputation,  e.  g.,  Mr.  Benson,  Mr.  Moore,  or  Dr.  Clarke.  Of 
Mr.  Hare's  talents  I  have  a  very  high  opinion,  but  as  yet  he  is 
miknown  to  the  literary  world.  I  did  not  see  the  obnoxious 
note  in  Magee  till  ten  days  ago,  and  then  only  in  a  bookseller's 
shop  for  a  few  moments.  I  am  surprised  at  its  acerbity.  When 
I  knew  something  of  him  eleven  years  ago,  he  was  a  liberal 
man,  and  spoke  respectfully  of  Methodism.  Who  reviewed 
'Home'  in  the  Magazine?*  Does  he  understand  genuine 
Methodism  ?  I  think  he  wrote  either  in  a  hurry  or  in  a  mist." 
The  decision  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  in  the  case  of  Brig- 
house  Chapel  is  adverted  to  with  great  triumph  not  only  by  Mr. 
Moore  in  the  letter  from  which  I  have  already  quoted,  but  by 
*  See  Methodist  Magazine  for  January  and  Febmaiy,  1810.  The  writer 
■vvas  a  clever  man,  but,  though  he  was  a  respectable  litterateur,  he  was  not  a 
profound  divine.  Benson,  however,  no  mean  judge,  had  a  very  high  opin- 
ion of  him,  and  says,  in  a  letter,  that  the  article  in  question  was  written  by 
a  correspondent,  of  whose  communications  not  one  word  was  ever  altered  by 
the  editor.  Hare  was  indignant  both  at  the  course  of  the  argument  and  at 
the  want  of  lirecisiou  in  the  use  of  terms. 

02 


322  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTIXG. 

many  of  my  lallier's  stated  correspondents.  The  question  in- 
volved was  exceedingly  simple,  and,  liad  it  related  to  a  private 
instead  of  to  a  })ul)lic  trust,  would  never  have  been  disputed 
between  reasonable  men.  The  appointment  of  ministers  to  the 
chapel  referred  to  was,  by  the  Foundation  Deed,  given  to  the 
Methodist  Conference.  At  the  time  of  its  execution  there  was 
but  one  body  answering  to  that  description ;  but  Avhen  Mr. 
Kilham,  and  two  or  three  preachers  with  him,  separated  from 
the  parent  connection,  they  too  claimed  to  be  a  Methodist  Con- 
ference, and,  on  the  strength  of  this  pretension,  the  trustees  of 
Brighouse  Chapel,  and  of  other  chapels  similarly  settled,  ousted 
the  nominees  of  the  elder  body,  and  accepted  those  of  the 
younger.  It  was  plain  that  the  Conference  intended  was  the 
Conference  in  existence  at  the  time  the  deed  was  made ;  equal- 
ly so  that,  the  trusts  being  clearly  expressed,  and  being  capable 
of  execution,  without  violence  to  any  paramount  intention  of 
the  founders,  the  Court  of  Chancery  itself  had  no  power  to 
alter  them.  But  some  very  obvious  pro]iositions  puzzle  those 
who  do  not  "svish  to  understand  them,  and  it  is  often  well  that 
they  should  be  sifted  through  the  intellects  of  great  lawyers 
and  judges,  and  then  authoritatively  presented,  in  their  simple 
verity,  to  those  Avho  have  doubted  them.  Such  a  service  was 
rendered  in  this  instance.  The  fever  of  1V97  was  bcguming 
to  cool,  and  the  new  connection  saw  things  distinctly  the  mo- 
ment they  were  explained  to  them  by  the  Master  of  the  Rolls. 
Every  chapel  which  was  worth  claiming  was  shortly  restored 
to  its  original  ])urpose.  In  this  matter  my  father  evinced  both 
liis  caution  and  his  Christianity.  "  The  decision  in  the  Brig- 
house  affair,"  he  writes  to  Mr.  Grindrod,  "  will  be  a  terrible 
blow  to  the  Killiamites,  and  is  a  most  important  event  in  the 
history  of  our  connection,  yet  I  hope  we  shall  use  our  triumph 
with  moderation.  It  seems  they  have  made  a  small  division 
at  Birmingham,  and,  what  is  laughable  enough,  have  taken  a 
room  in  a  ]>lace  called  Needless  Alley." 

The  exclusively  clerical  management  of  the  connectional 
funds  again  occupied,  about  this  period,  nnich  of  my  father's 
consideration,  and  it  is  the  sulyect  of  correspondence  between 
hira,  Barber,  Griffith,  Entwisle,  and  Marsden.  It  was,  I  believe, 
discussed  at  the  ensuing  Conference,  but  the  feeling  against 
change  was  still  too  powerful  to  be  easily  overcome.     He  sub- 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  823 

raitted,  in  his  letters  to  his  friends,  some  proposals  for  the  fuller 
publication  of  the  connectional  accounts,  which  received  their 
unanimous  sanction ;  but  even  these  failed  to  secure  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Conference.  It  is  easy  to  guess  at  some  of  the 
reasons  for  this  indisposition  to  alter  the  existing  state  of  af- 
fairs. Very  few  of  the  ministers  cared  to  concern  themselves 
with  finance,  and  those  who  really  wished  to  understand  it  had 
not,  generally  speaking,  been  trained  to  any  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  details  of  business.  The  strife  and  obloquy,  too, 
which  had  attended  the  discussion  of  such  questions  in  1V97, 
made  every  lover  of  peace  very  anxious  to  avoid  them.  And, 
to  crown  these  diificulties,  there  was  the  standing  disadvantage 
that  the  true  position  of  the  clergy  was  not  yet  clearly  defined 
and  understood.  The  control  of  the  connectional  funds  was 
an  important  element  of  power,  especially  durmg  times  of  agi- 
tation ;  and  while  there  was  any  miccrtainty  in  the  tone  of  con- 
nectional feeling  as  to  a  point  so  material  to  the  very  existence 
of  Methodism,  some  cautious  men,  who  thoroughly  sympathized 
with  my  father's  general  opmions,  did  not  know  what  was  the 
first  step  to  take  in  carrying  them  into  efi:ect,  and  would  do 
nothing  lest  they  should  do  wrong.  It  was  his  policy,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  promote  simultaneous  improvements  in  all  di- 
rections. Let  the  entrance  into  the  ministry  be  still  dUigently 
guarded ;  let  all  the  ancient  usages  of  mutual  inquiry  and  su- 
pervision, of  itinerancy,  and  of  sustentation,*  be  sacredly  pre- 

*  Above  all,  the  ancient  usage  of  itinerancy.  My  father  would  never 
have  listened  with  approval  to  any  scheme  which  gave  to  one  of  several  min- 
isters in  a  circuit  the  exclusive  or  preferential  occupancy  of  any  pulpit  with- 
in its  bounds.  Such  plans  are  attempted  with  the  best  intentions,  and  in  the 
hope  that  a  particular  class  of  preaching  will  attract  the  poor  to  deserted 
sanctuaries,  oc  the  rich  to  new  chapels  in  fashionable  neighborhoods.  All 
honor  to  the  zeal  which  conceives  and  executes  these  new  contrivances  !  But 
are  they  not  irreconcilably  opposed  to  the  principle  which  has  worked  so 
long  and  well  ?  The  virtue  of  the  Methodist  system  lies  not  only  in  the  pe- 
riodical change,  but  in  the  constant  variety  of  ministers  ;  and  the  genius  and 
eloquence,  or  the  honest  fervor  which  captivate  all  kinds  of  hearers,  must  be 
mixed,  and,  at  all  events,  in  no  excess,  with  other  modes  of  thought,  ex- 
pression, and  manner,  quite  as  necessary  to  the  gathering  and  consolidation 
of  churches,  and  to  the  attainment  of  the  great  ends  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry. While  some  other  Nonconformists  are  seriously  considering  how  they 
may  best  secure  the  inestimable  advantages  of  a  co-pastorate,  let  us  not 
lightly  part  with  them.     How  are  the  just  claims  and  commendable  feelings 


324  THE   LIFE  OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

served ;  let  the  standard  of  literary,  tlieoloj^ical,  and  religious 
attainment  be  made  higher  and  more  uniform ;  in  short,  let  the 
ministry  he  such  as  sliould  command,  ■without  controversy  or 
reluctance,  the  recognition  an<i  contidence  of  the  people.  But, 
at  the  same  time,  respect  their  rights ;  secure  their  services  in 
every  department  not  assigned  by  the  New  Testament  exclu- 
sively to  the  mmister  or  to  the  jjastorate ;  relieve  the  clergy 
from  a  burden  MJiich  was  greater  than  they  could  bear,  and 
from  wretched  suspicions,  ill-natured  inshuiations,  and  bitter 
calumnies ;  and  pour  the  light  of  noonday  upon  the  smoulder- 
ing fires  of  faction,  so  putting  them  out  forever.  These  two 
lines  of  action,  so  far  from  being  diverse,  Avere  the  two  compo- 
nent parts  of  one  complete  and  comprelicnsive  system  ;  and,  as 
each  Avas  steadily  and  prudently  pursued,  it  promoted  and  se- 
cured the  other. 

"  Mr.  Rankin  died  well,"  says  Mr.  Griffith,  in  a  letter  dated 
May  30th,  1810,  "but  carried  his  peculiarities  to  the  brink  of 
the  grave.  He  has  left  something  to  every  one  of  us  :  a  medal 
of  the  late  Mr.  Whitelield  to  Dr.  Clarke ;  his  cocked  liat  to  Mr. 
Benson ;  his  wig  to  Mr.  Kodda ;  his  short  boots  to  Mr.  Jenkins ; 
his  long  boots  to  Mr.  Johnson ;  to  me,  his  cane  and  cloak. 
You  will  be  sure  that  I  have  had  q\iite  enough  upon  my  hands 
at  present,  and  shall  have  till  Conference ;  and  I  have  not, 
among  all  my  brethren,  a  Bunting  or  a  BroAvn*  to  help  me, 
and  yet  they  are  all  excellent  men.  I  am  glad  that  there  are 
preachers  who  think  for  the  connection," 

During  the  next  month,  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  Robert 
Lonias  flew  through  the  connection,  and,  upon  those  who  knew 
his  Avorth,  produced  the  impression  of  an  irreparable  loss.  Per- 
haps no  man  Avhom  Methodism  has  produced  resembled  my 
father  so  strongly  in  the  union  of  some  qualities  seldom  com- 

of  all  the  ministers  in  a  circuit  to  be  respected  if  any  preference  exist  as 
among  themselves?  Dare  I  add,  Are  these  Innovations  never  "purchased 
with  money?"  I  feel  sure  my  motive  in  adding  this  note  will  ohtain  for  it 
a  candid  reading.  At  all  events,  I  am  persuaded  I  speak  my  honored  fa- 
tlier's  mind. 

*  The  late  Rev.  .John  Brown,  who  had  hnon  stationed  wldi  I\Ir.  firifhth 
in  Manchester,  and  by  whose  decease,  in  tiie  twentv-niiith  vcar  of  liis  age, 
tlie  connection  was  deprived  of  an  able  and  zealous  minister.  Notices  of 
him  will  be  found  iu  the  Metiiudist  Magazine  for  1811,  and  in  the  Minutes 
for  1812. 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY   AT   LIVERPOOL.  325 

billed,  and  each  of  the  highest  possible  vahie  to  a  Methodist 
preacher.  I  refer  to  their  coniiuon  conversance  witli,  and  in- 
terest in  questions  of  connectional  finance,  whicli  yet  they  sub- 
ordinated to  the  great  spiritual  work  of  Methodism.  These 
"  outward  things"  were  lelt  to  belong  to  "  the  house  of  the 
Lord ;"  and  this  relation  induced  and  sanctified  the  attention 
wliich  Avas  paid  to  them.  Is  there  any  danger,  in  our  day, 
that  this  relation  may  be  forgotten,  and  that  mere  activity  and 
ability  in  the  details  of  business  may  be  rated  at  more  than 
their  real  worth?  The  necessities  of  the  system  can  not  be 
denied.  Heads  must  think,  and  hands  must  write,  if  either 
our  local  or  our  general  enterprises  are  to  succeed ;  and  it  is 
sometimes  a  source  of  annoyance  and  of  difticulty  when,  in  the 
Conference  or  the  Quarterly  meeting,  the  wise,  eloquent,  and 
faithful  preacher,  or  the  diligent  or  experienced  pastor,  is  una- 
ble to  conceal  his  indifference  to  financial  aftairs,  or  his  utter 
incapacity  to  deal  with  them.  But  every  talent  has  its  own 
place  and  value.  Peculiar  aptness  for  inferior  duties  will  not 
supply  the  lack  of  proper  qualifications  for  the  higher — strictly 
speakmg,  mdeed,  the  sole — work  of  the  ministry.  There  is  no 
need,  however,  for  the  failure,  in  any  respect,  of  any  man  in- 
trusted with  the  Divine  commission  to  feed  and  rule  the 
Church.  In  a  community  like  ours,  especially  where  the  prop- 
er functions  of  the  diaconate  are  so  well  understood  and  so  ex- 
tensively discharged  by  the  laity,  an  honest  and  enlightened 
aim  to  accomplish  the  Avhole  round  of  ministerial  labor  is  uni- 
formly successful. 

So  was  it  in  the  case  of  Robert  Lomas — a  Braincrd  in  self- 
renunciation,  and  in  the  ceaseless,  plaintive  cry  of  his  inmost 
soul  for  the  Divine  sufiiciency;  yet,  when  work  was  to  be 
done,  however  secular  in  its  first  aspect,  alert,  cautious,  and 
painstaking ;  studious  in  the  closet ;  solemn  and  rousing  in  the 
pulpit ;  assiduous,  tender,  and  skillful  among  the  people  of  his 
charge ;  quick  and  accurate  at  the  secretary's  desk ;  thrifty  and 
managing  as  a  man  of  business ;  all  in  the  spirit  of  the  seiwant 
who  knows  not  "  at  what  hour"  his  "  Lord  doth  come."  And 
He  made  "  no  long  tarrying."  "  My  dear  brother,"  writes  Mr. 
Marsden,  "  how  uncertain  are  all  our  prospects  here,  and  in 
what  a  land  of  shadows  do  we  Hve !  Our  dear  Lomas  is  called 
away  in  the  very  strength  of  his  years.     How  mysterious  a 


326  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

ProvidL'iioc,  tliat  :i  man  of  so  imuli  p'u'ty,  iiitcL^n-ity,  and  iiscful- 
iic'ss  should  be  taken  from  iis !  He  was  a  pillar  of  Methodism, 
and  one  that  would  ])avc  stood  firmly.  In  the  Conference,  I 
always  knew  he  would  take  that  side  of  any  question  which 
would  most  ]>rol)ably  i)n)mote  the  glory  of  God;  and  tin; 
l)reuchers  evidently  i)aid  much  attention  to  what  he  said." 
Then  Mr.  Marsdeu  refers  to  the  decease  of  one  of  my  father's 
kindest  friends.  "  You  have  also  heard  of  the  death  of  Mrs. 
iVlleu"  (of  Macclesfield).  "She  was  'an  IsracUte  indeed,  in 
whom  there'  was  'no  guile.'" 

The  Conference  of  1810  met  in  London,  and  Benson  was  for 
tlic  second  time  elected  president.  I  have  the  means  of  dis- 
tinctly tracing  my  father's  share  in  the  legislation  of  the  year. 
"  The  solemn  designation  of  our  young  preachers  to  the  work 
of  the  Christian  ministry  among  us,  by  their  formal  admission 
into  fidl  connection,"  which,  by  a  recent  regulation,  had  been 
permitted  at  District  meetings,  was  ordered  for  the  future  to 
take  place  only  at  the  Conference.  The  chairmen  of  districts 
were  directed  not  only  to  examine  very  minutely  in  their  Dis- 
trict meetings  all  persons  proposed  to  travel  as  ministers,  but 
to  make  a  special  written  report  of  the  opinion  of  the  District 
meeting  respecting  them  as  to  health,  piety,  ministerial  abili- 
ties, belief  of  our  doctrines,  attachment  to  our  discipline,  and 
freedom  from  debt  and  other  secular  encumbrances.  The 
preacher,  also,  A\ho  reeonnnended  any  candidate  was  required 
to  do  so  in  writing.  A  s})ecial  effort  was  agreed  upon  in  order 
to  provide  for  the  large  debt  of  tlie  connection,  collections  tor 
less  general  objects  being  for  the  time  restricted  ;  and  farther 
arrangements  Avere  made  for  the  better  transaction  of  the  bus- 
iness of  the  Conference. 

The  publication  of  the  first  part  of  Dr.  Clarke's  Conunentary, 
containing  the  startling  discovery  that  the  tempter  of  our 
Mother  Eve  recommended  himself  to  her  good  graces  in  the 
form  of  a  baboon,  was  the  first  event  of  connectional  interest 
which  occurred  after  the  Conference.  The  general  world  only 
laughed,  while  critics  emln-aced  a  rare  o])])ortunity  of  exercis- 
ing their  special  vocation.  One  old  INfethodist  preacher  dealt 
very  summarily  with  the  new  theory.  IMr.  JJarber  writes, 
"Will  you  have  any  objection  to  London  next  year,  if  Provi- 
<lence  o))en  the  a\  ay  V     ii'  you  are  Meary  of  being  a  cm*ate,  I 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY  AT   LIVERPOOL.  327 

will  give  up  the  bishoi)ric  to  you  with  great  pleasure."  This 
was  written  by  a  minister  who  had  traveled  for  twenty-eight 
years  to  one  of  only  eleven  years'  standing.  "  What  do  you 
think,"  he  continues,  "  of  Dr.  Clarke's  Bible,  and  particularly 
of  what  he  says  of  the  old  serpent?  Must  we  now  say,  'As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  baboon  in  the  wilderness  T  etc."  Hare 
speaks  in  another  tone.  "  What  think  you,"  he  says,  "  of  Dr. 
Clarke's  rational,  talking  baboon?  I  think  that  a  rational 
creature  must  be  a  moral  agent,  and  that  a  moral  agent  fresh 
from  the  hand  of  the  Creator  must  be  holy,  and  that  the  devil 
might  as  easily  enter  into  Eve  as  into  his  apeship,  and  might 
as  easily  usurp  the  government  of  her  soul  as  of  that  of  the  ra- 
tional, free,  and  holy  baboon." 

On  January  19th,  1811,  my  father  addresses  Mr.Marsden  as 
follows :  "  At  our  Quarterly  meeting,  the  trustees  of  Pitt  Street 
produced  their  intended  petition  to  the  Conference  for  such  a 
modification  of  the  rule  against  organs  as  would  permit  the 
erection  of  one  in  their  chapel  to  guide  the  singuag.  It  was 
moved  '  that  the  Quarterly  meeting  do  concur  with  the  trust- 
ees in  this  petition.'  After  a  debate  of  two  hours,  conducted, 
on  each  side,  on  the  whole,  in  a  very  brotherly  way,  and  with 
no  small  ability,  the  vote  was  taken,  when  thirty  were  for  the 
organ,  and  thirty-three  against  it.  Here,  I  believe,  the  matter 
will  rest,  at  least  for  the  present.  One  good  has  resulted  from 
the  deliberate  discussion  of  the  subject :  the  brethren  have 
learned  to  exercise  candor  toward  each  other's  sentiments,  per- 
ceiving that  this  is  one  of  those  points  on  which  men  may  hon- 
estly form  very  different  opinions,  according  to  their  various 
views  of  the  intimations  of  Scripture  and  the  suggestions  of 
expediency.  We  have  a  good  Avork  of  God  in  Liverpool. 
Very  many  have  of  late  been  brought  to  hear  the  Gospel,  and 
a  considerable  number  have  heard  to  purpose.  But,  though 
the  addition  of  new  menibers  has  been  large,  the  net  increase 
of  the  society  last  quarter  was  only  fifty.  AVe  arc  sanguine  in 
our  expectations  of  a  larger  accession  ere  long.  The  Lord 
grant  us  our  hearts'  desii'e !  I  am  reading  with  great  pleasure, 
and,  I  hope,  improvement,  the  new  edition  of  Milner's  '  History 
of  the  Church.'  He  is  an  able  writer.  Yet,  in  spite  of  his 
constant  reasonings  in  favor  of  Calvinism  and  diocesan  Episco- 
pacy as  having  existed  nearly  from  the  beginning,  the  facts 


328  TUE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

■wliich  even  liis  prejiulicos  would  not  allow  him  to  conceal  have 
confirmed  me  in  my  impressions  in  favor  of  the  reverse.  Are 
you  not  pleased  with  Hare's  Answer  to  Magee?  I  think  it 
excellent." 

An  extract  from  another  letter  written  by  Hare,  gives  an 
example  of  his  mode  of  dealing  with  theological  questions.  "  I 
am  sorry  to  hear  that  any  of  our  brethren  scruple  to  speak  of 
purchasetl  grace  and  glory.  I.  It  strikes  me  as  a  Socinian  re- 
finement. II.  The  general  tenor  of  the  New  Testament  war- 
rants our  use  of  the  term.  Jesus  Christ  has  regained  for  us 
what  we  have  forfeited,  and  has  regained  it  by  what  the  Scrip- 
tures call '  a  price.'  III.  The  '  kinsman,'  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, to  whom  belonged  the  '  right  of  redemption,'  redeemed 
not  only  the  debtor,  but  his  paternal  inheritance.  These  things 
"were  '  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,'  of  Avhich  '  the  body 
is  Christ.'  IV.  (1.)  There  is  no  proof  that  Ephesians,  i.,  14, 
means  the  Church.  (2.)  The  apostle  speaks  tliere  not  of  any 
thing  to  be  possessed  by  Christ,  but  throughout  of  what  is,  or 
is  to  be,  possessed  by  us.  (3.)  There  appears  to  be  something 
in  the  hypothesis  which  si)oils  the  argument ;  for  what  mean- 
ing is  there  in  my  holding  the  earnest  until  another  obtains 
the  entire  possession  ?  (4.)  The  '  earnest'  is  '  the  Spirit  of 
promise,'  that  is,  the  Spirit  promised,  not  to  the  saints  in  Para- 
dise, who  wait  for  the  redem})tion  of  the  whole  Church,  but  to 
the  believers  on  earth,  who  wait  for  the  inheritance.  (5.)  The 
purchased  possession  (that  which  is  pm-chased,  and  which  we 
wait  to  possess)  is  then,  I  think,  the  inheritance  itself.  (G.) 
This  inheritance,  therefore,  in  the  sense  of  the  Scriptiu*e  nieta- 
jjhor,  is  purchased,  that  is,  obtained  by  virtue  of  the  death  of 
Christ.  (Verse  iii.,  connected  by  the  intervening  verses  with 
verse  vii.)  If  this  be  the  sense  of  the  expression  in  this  passage, 
the  objection  that  the  same  language  is  not  found  elsewhere  is 
of  no  ibrce.  I  only  show  you  how  I  would  begin  to  think  on 
this  subject." 

Mr.  Newton  writes : 

"  ITolmfirth,  March  7tli,  1811. 

"  My  dear  BROxnER, — It  is  very  much  the  wisli  of  Itic  ]ieo- 
ple  here,  as  Avell  as  of  myself,  that  you  Avould  come  oxvv  to 
open  our  new  chapel  on  the  iVth  of  April,  i.  e.,  the  Wednesday 
in  Easter  week.     Do  come  if  you  possibly  can,  and  give  us  a 


HIS  EAKLY  MINISTRY  AT    LIVERPOOL.  329 

fiiir  specimen  of  Methodism.  I  never  Avtis  in  a  circuit  where 
the  week-night  congregations  Avere  any  thing  Uke  so  hirge  as 
hi  this.  Last  Bmulay  night  I  went  to  a  new  j^lace,  just  at  the 
foot  of  one  of  our  huge  moimtains ;  the  house  was  soon  crowded, 
while  great  numbers  were  caUing  aloud  for  admission.  I  de- 
sired my  colleague,  Avho  was  present,  to  go  and  ask  permission 
to  preach  in  the  adjoining  house ;  he  did  so,  and  had  the  room, 
though  large,  filled  in  a  few  mmutes ;  so  that  we  both  preached 
at  the  same  hour,  under  the  same  roof,  to  two  distinct  congre- 
gations. I  liear  great  things  of  your  amphitheatre  chapel  in 
Liverpool.  A  man  will  need  strong  lungs  to  blow  his  words 
from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other.  In  Bradford  and  in  Keighley 
they  are  building  chajjels  nearly  as  large  as  the  Carver  Street 
Chapel  in  Sheffield.  To  what  will  Methodism  come  in  a  few 
years  ?" 

To  Mr.  Grindrod,  then  stationed  in  Bradford,  my  father  writes 
on  the  6th  of  April,  1811  :  "It  wants  but  a  few  minutes  of 
post-time,  and  I  have  leisure  only  to  beg  that  you  will,  by  re- 
turn of  jost,  tell  me  frankly,  and  without  disguise,  whether  it 
is  with  the  full  and  hearty  concurrence  of  Mr.  SutclifFe  and  of 
the  otlicr  preachers,  that  I  have  been  desired  to  assist  in  open- 
ing your  chapel.  Some  circumstances  make  me  suspicious  that 
all  is  not  right  in  this  business,  and,  till  I  hear  from  you,  I  can 
not  answer  Mr.  Fawcett's  second  obliging  letter.  I  charge  you, 
as  my  friend,  tell  me  the  whole  truth,  as  I  would  on  no  account 
engage  in  such  a  work  unless  the  preachers  really  and  earnestly 
desired  it.  It  is  a  work  in  which  I  could  not  take  any  personal 
pleasure."  My  father's  suspicions  Avere  correct.  The  trustees 
of  the  chapel  in  question  were  in  open  collision  with  the  super- 
intendent and  the  society  as  to  the  mode  in  which  the  Deed  of 
Settlement  should  be  framed.  In  this  case  Grindrod  fought 
the  first  of  many  battles  for  Methodism  with  great  courage  and 
prudence,  and  with  an  utter  disregard  of  personal  consequences. 
Ultimately  my  father  wrote  to  Mr.  Fawcett,  one  of  the  trustees, 
and  for  whom  he  afterward  formed  a  high  res^ject,  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms : 

"Liverpool,  April  10th,  1811. 

"  Dear  Sir, — A  friend  from  Manchester  informed  me  a  few 
days  ago  of  some  very  unpleasant  circumstances  which  have 


330  TTIE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUXTIXd. 

oecurrc'd  rc'si»('clinL(  the  Jiradtbrd  Chapel.  Were  there  no 
other  ilitlicuhies  in  the  "svay,  these  circumstances  alone  make  it 
my  dear  and  indispensable  duty  to  decline  complying  -with 
your  request  to  assist  Dr.  Coke  in  o})ening  your  chapel." 

Not  long  afterward  my  father  wrote,  peremptorily  declining 
an  invitation  to  the  Bradford  Circuit. 

It  is  jiot  improl)al)le  that  this  case  at  Bradford  was  one  of 
the  incidents  which  induced  my  lather  to  consider  Avell,  and  to 
settle  for  his  own  guidance,  the  grave  connectional  question  as 
to  tlie  influence  over  tlie  management  of  ecclesiastical  affairs 
which  might  be  legithnately  exercised  by  bodies  of  trustees. 
During  the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  A\hile  his  power  Avas  im- 
limited,  this  influence  wa3  the  only  rival  of  his  own,  and  when 
he  died  it  became  the  rival  also  of  the  Conference,  as  that  as- 
sembly, of  necessity  and  by  consent,  assumed  the  duties  which 
he  had  discharged.  The  successive  agitations  which  followed 
his  decease  threw  great  weight  into  the  scale  of  the  Conference, 
for  the  internal  modifications  of  the  system  in  which  they  re- 
sulted were  effected  mainly  at  the  instance  of  the  people  at 
large,  and  vested  officers  strictly  belonging  to  the  societies, 
and  theref<n-e  under  the  regulation  and  control  of  the. Confer- 
ence, with  large  functions  and  authorities.  Still,  no  very  speedy 
and  sensible  alteration  took  place  in  the  general  conduct  of 
affairs.  In  many  cases,  trustees  themselves  were  the  principal 
ofticers  of  the  societies ;  in  others,  those  who  held  oflice,  as 
stewards  and  leaders,  did  not  care  to  act  as  such,  but  i)ermitted 
old  practices  to  continue.  An  instance  of  this,  as  to  Leeds,  had 
occurred  in  my  father's  history.  The  trustees,  and  not  the 
Quarterly  meeting  of  ministers,  stewards,  and  leaders,  were 
the  persons  who  invited  my  father  to  labor  in  that  circuit. 
Against  a  similar  usage,  which  ])rev:iiled  at  Hull,  Hare  was,  I 
beheve,  the  first  to  make  a  (|iii(t  Imt  successful  stand.  My 
father's  experience  in  London,  and  his  observation  of  what 
jjassed  during  this  ])eriod  in  other  jilaces,  led  him  anxiously  to 
])romote  the  new  connectional  policy,  which  nia(h'  the  ministers 
on  the  one  hand,  aiul  the  ollicers  of  the  society  on  the  othci-, 
independent  of  the  undue  influence  of  trustees.  It  was  plain 
that  these  were  merely  the  legal  guardians  of  ])ro])crty,  and 
ought  to  deal  with  it  with  exclusive  reference  and  in  constant 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  AT   LIVERPOOL.  331 

suborcliuation  to  the  great  general  object  for  whicli  it  had  been 
acquired,  namely,  tlie  welfare  of  the  particular  society,  and  of 
the  whole  body  of  the  Methodists  of  which  it  was  a  part.  Any 
course  of  proceedhig  which  contravened  this  princii)le  was  en- 
tirely repugnant  to  my  father's  views.  He  held  that  all  rights 
were  duties  under  another  name ;  and  whenever  an  attempt 
Avas  n\ade  to  violate  rule,  he  always  steadily  resisted  it.  It 
Avas  not  that  a  small  portion  of  the  machinery  was  broken  or 
deranged,  but  that,  in  consequence,  the  whole  might  be  dislo- 
cated and  destroyed.  Time  rolled  on,  however,  and  expe- 
rience increased ;  and  my  father's  keen  eye  foresaw  that  a 
polity  which  gives  substantial  power  to  almost  every  man  who 
does  a  substantial  service  for  the  Church,  needed  vigilance  in 
another  direction.  Neither  ability  for  doing  particular  kinds 
of  good,  nor  activity  in  doing  them,  necessarily  implies  such  a 
degree  of  interest  in  the  general  work  of  the  Church,  much  less 
such  a  degree  of  wisdom,  prudence,  and  self-control  as  qualifies 
men  to  take  an  absorl>ing  share  in  its  government ;  and,  if  per- 
sons were  to  be  found  possessing  these  qualities,  it  was  desira- 
ble that  their  services  should  be  enlisted,  even  though  they  did 
not  fiU  any  public  position  distinctly  religious.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances, trustees,  whose  exclusive  influence  was  greatly  to 
be  deprecated,  became,  when  united  with  others,  a  most  valua- 
ble resource.  Not  necessarily  leaders,  or  local  preachers,  or 
otherwise  officially  engaged  in  spiritual  duties,  they  were,  if 
private  members  of  the  society,  the  fittest  representatives  of 
the  body  of  the  people.  None  had  made  greater  sacrifices  of 
money,  time,  and  continuous  exertion  ;  none  had  undertaken 
greater  burdens ;  and  so  none  had  more  fully  pledged  them- 
selves to  a  thorough  and  life-long  adherence  to  the  estabhshed 
order  of  things.  Very  gradually,  therefore,  biit  with  a  very 
decided  purpose,  my  father  promoted  the  measures  which  gave 
to  trustees,  possessing  the  qualification  of  membership,  a  legiti- 
mate share  in  the  administration  of  the  aftairs  of  the  society. 
I  believe  that  in  1852,  v^'hen  he  had,  to  a  great  extent,  retired 
from  public  life,  he  approved  more  heartily  of  the  changes 
which  secured  this  object  than  of  any  others  then  made.  They 
recognized  the  principle  that  all  the  talents  of  all  the  members 
of  the  Church  are  to  be  employed  for  its  advantage,  and  so 
were  popular  without  being  democratic,  and  not  only  safe,  but 


332  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

salutary.  These  remarks  Avill  not  eommciul  tliemselvcs  to 
those  who  discover  in  tlie  New  Testament  a  well-defined  plat- 
form of  Chun-h  <fovernment,  much  less  to  any  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  pleading  the  analogy  of  the  British  Constitution  in 
favor  of  ecclesiastical  democracies.  They  are  written  with  a 
diflerent  purpose.  The  leader  of  the  Methodists  durmg  the 
last  forty  years  was  no  lover  of  priestcraft,  neither  did  he  favor 
the  crait  of  any  order  of  the  laity.  Let  the  gifts  which  qualify 
for  usefulness  in  the  management  of  Church  affi\irs  be  sought 
wherever  they  are  to  be  found,  and  systematically  turned  to 
good  account.  In  our  day,  as  when  St.  Paul  instructed  tlie 
Corinthian  Church,  gifts  vary,  in  order  that  various  works  may 
be  done ;  and,  as  the  Methodists  believe,  neither  are  the  i)ar- 
ticular  gifts  of  which  I  have  been  speaking  confined  to  one 
class,  nor  common  to  all  of  any  class. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  this  year  that  Lord  Sidmoulli's  inter- 
ference Avith  the  question  of  religious  toleration  excited  the  de- 
termined o])})ositi()n  of  all  sects  of  Nonconformists.  The  Meth- 
odists took  their  full  share  in  the  agitation,  though  circumstan- 
ces did  not  favor  the  full  and  clear  avowal,  on  their  ]jart,  of 
the  ])rincij)les  which  they  almost  unanimously  held.  Both  Dr. 
Clarke  and  Dr.  Coke  were  then  in  London  ;  and  their  age  and 
reputation,  and  the  access  which  both  of  them,  and  especially 
the  latter,  had  obtained  to  persons  of  political  inlluence,  neces- 
sarily placed  them  at  the  head  of  the  movement.  They  ])ro- 
cured  an  interview  with  Lord  .Sidmouth ;  and,  though  he  did 
not  talk  them  over  to  his  o})inions,  he  convinced  them  of  the 
gopdness  of  his  intentions,  and  they  did  what  they  could  to  al- 
lay apprehension  and  to  dumnish  the  force  of  the  resistance. 
Fortunately,  they  were  not  successful,  Mr.  Barber  was  not  a 
man  to  be  misled  on  any  <|uesti(>n  of  abstract  justice,  or  to  be 
diverted  from  di-aling  Avith  it  by  any  motives  of  tem])orary  ex- 
pediency. Thomas  Thompson  too,  then  a  meml)er  of  the  Leg- 
islature, was  a  local  ])reacher,  as  was  also  Thomas  Allan,  to 
Avhose  name  and  ])rofession  I  have  before  adverted;*  and  the 
proposed  measure  not  only  threatened  the  general  interests  of 
the  ccjnnection,  but  seriously  impinged  u])on  the  rights  of  their 
particular  order.  These  gentlemen,  together  witli  ]\Ir.  15utter- 
worth,  who  in  this  solitary  instance  swerved  from  his  allegiance 
*  Sec  i)age  209. 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  833 

to  liis  brothor-in-law,  Di-.  Clarke,  carried  through  the  "  Coin- 
luittee  of  Privileges"  a  scries  of  resolutions  against  the  bill.  A 
vigorous  opposition  was  organized,  and  was  at  its  full  height, 
when  Lord  Sidmouth,  Lord  Eldou  himself  concurring,  consent- 
ed that  the  bill  should  be  read  that  day  six  months.  The  min- 
isters of  the  Manchester  District  received  the  summons  to  ac- 
tion while  they  were  assembled  at  their  annual  District  meet- 
ing. After  a  discussion  of  the  question,  my  father  embodied 
the  result  in  a  document  "which  1  give  at  length.  The  hajid  of 
Dr.  Percival's  pupil  may  be  distinctly  seen  hi  it ;  but  it  is  guided 
by  experience,  and  by  a  prevailing  regard  to  the  special  inter- 
ests which  it  strove  to  aid.  I  consider  the  paper  to  be  an  ad- 
mirable specimen  of  the  characteristic  qualities  of  the  writer. 

"  At  a  Meeting  of  the  Regular  Methodist  Ministers  in  the 
Connection  of  the  late  Kev.  John  Wesley,  stationed  at  pres- 
ent in  the  Manchester  District,  and  assembled  at  Liverpool  on 
Thursday,  May  23, 1811,  it  was  unanimously  resolved, 

"  I.  Tliat  liberty  of  conscience,  comprehending  the  freedom 
of  public  assemblies  for  religious  worship  and  instruction  in 
such  forms  and  under  such  teachers  as  men  shall  for  them- 
selves approve,  is  the  inalienable  right  of  all  men,  and  that  m 
the  peaceable  exercise  of  this  right,  as  well  as  of  the  farther 
right  of  peaceably  communicating  their  o^nl  religious  views 
and  opinions  to  all  Avho  are  willing  to  hear  them,  they  are  not 
justly  amenable  to  the  authority  of  the  civil  magistrate. 

"  11.  That  we  consider  these  rights  as  having  been  solemnly 
recognized  and  legally  secured  to  British  subjects  by  the  letter 
and  S2)irit  of  the  statute  commonly  called  the  Toleration  Act; 
a  statute  to  Avhich  tens  of  thousands  have  long  looked  with  grat- 
itude, and  which  is,  in  om-  opinion,  a  most  essential  part,  and 
one  of  the  strongest  bulwarks  of  our  glorious  Constitution,  as 
estabUshed  by  law  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution  of  1G88. 

"in.  That  the  facilities  which  have  been  thus  afforded  for 
religious  worship  and  instruction  have  powerfully  contributed 
to  the  improvement  of  public  morals,  and  to  the  promotion  of 
industry,  subordination,  and  loyalty  among  the  middle  and  in- 
ferior orders  of  the  commimity ;  and  that  to  this  high  degree 
of  religious  liberty,  under  the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence, 
the  preservation  of  this  happy  country  from  the  horrors  of  that 
revolutionary  phrensy  which  has  so  awfully  desolated  the  na- 
tions of  the  Continent  is  principally  to  be  ascribed. 


331  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

"IV.  That  our  oonfulcncc  in  the  continuance  of  those  rights, 
wliich  are  legally  seeured  to  us  as  our  constitutional  Lirthright 
by  the  Act  of  Toleration,  has  been  greatly  conlinncd  by  the 
repeated  declarations  of  all  our  nionarchs,  from  the  time  of  Wil- 
liam the  Third,  in  favor  of  religious  liberty ;  and  especially  by 
the  ever-memorable  assurance  of  our  present  venerable  and  be- 
loved sovereign  in  his  first  speech  from  the  throne,  that  it  was 
his  '  invariable  resolution  to  maintain  the  Toleration  ina'io- 
late;'  and  that  'thereUgious  rights  of  his  subjects  were  equal- 
ly dear  to  him  Avith  the  most  valuable  prerogatives  of  his 
crown ;'  an  assurance  with  wliich  his  majesty's  conduct  toward. 
us  has  hitherto  uniformly  accorded. 

"  V.  That  we  view  with  the  greatest  alarm  and  concern  a  bill 
which  has  been  lately  introduced  into  the  House  of  Lords  by 
a  nobleman  whose  general  character  wc  highly  respect,  which 
Ijill  we  consider  as  tending  to  restrict  and  diminish  those  long- 
established  privileges  which  are  specified  in  the  foregoing  res- 
olutions. 

"VI.  That  the  said  bill,  if  passed  into  a  law,  will  materially 
abridge  the  uncpiestionable  right  of  British  subjects  to  judge 
and  decide  for  themselves  concerning  the  competency  of  those 
rehgious  teachers  whom  they  conscientiously  ])refer,  and  there- 
fore voluntarily  support ;  that  it  will  be  a  grievous  hardship 
upon  the  regular  itinerant  ininisters  of  our  connection  (who, 
though  not  2yGt">^^(inently  appointed  to  separate  congregations, 
are  yet  wholly  devoted  to  the  Christian  ministry),  by  depriv- 
ing them  of  those  exemptions,  not  merely  from  pains  and  ])en- 
alties,  but  also  from  military  and  other  secular  duties,  which, 
on  the  ground  of  the  i)ublic  utility  to  be  derived  from  their  la- 
bors, the  law,  as  it  now  stands,  has  Avisely  granted  to  ])crsons 
who  are  constantly  and  exclusively  cmi>loyed  in  the  work  of 
religious  instruction ;  that  it  will  reiulcr  it  very  difficult  and  ex- 
])ensive,  and  in  many  cases  altogether  impracticable,  to  obtain 
legal  i)rotcction  for  the  numerous  body  of  our  occasional 
preachers  and  exhorters^  Avho  not  only  form  a  very  useful  part 
of  our  society,  but  whose  services  are  essentially  necessary  as 
local  auxiliaries  to  the  regular  itinerant  ministers,  in  order  to 
supply  the  various  chapels  and  meeting-houses  in  which  our 
congregations  assemble  for  Divine  worship ;  that  it  Avill  be  a 
serious  violation  of  that  confidence  which  has  been  reposed  in 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   AT  LIVERPOOL.  835 

the  laws  of  their  country  by  the  trustees  of  our  numerous  chap- 
els, who  have  expended  large  sums  of  money,  and  signed  se- 
curities to  a  very  considerable  amount  on  account  of  the  said 
chapels,  o?i  the  faith  of  the  Act  of  Toleration,  and  Avith  the 
fullest  reliance  that  our  present  system,  as  allowed  by  that  act, 
M'ould  remain  undisturbed ;  that  it  will  open  new  sources  of 
litigation,  and  furnish  to  the  ill-disposed  the  occasion  and  the 
means  of  obstructing  and  oppressing  tlieir  peaceable  fellow-sub- 
jects by  capricious  examinations  and  vexatious  delays ;  and 
that,  by  establishing  a  principle  of  interference  in  matters  of 
conscience,  it  may  become  a  2irececle)it  for  future  and  fatal  ex- 
periments against  our  religious  liberties. 

"  VII.  That  the  restrictions  proposed  in  the  said  bill  are  as 
unnecessary  as  they  would  be  injurious,  because  the  instances 
of  abuse  on  which  they  are  professedly  groimded  have  been  few 
in  number ;  because  the  recurrence  of  such  abuse  has  been,  in 
part,  already  prevented  by  some  recent  legislative  enactments ; 
and  because  the  Methodists  in  particular  have  exjilicitly  pro- 
hibited (by  a  regulation  which  they  voluntarily  adopted  in  the 
year  1803)  the  application  of  licenses,  procured  imder  the  Act 
of  Toleration,  to  the  purpose  of  obtaining  exemption  from  mil- 
itary or  parochial  duties  by  any  persons  in  connection  with 
them  who  are  not  wholly  employed  in  tlie  Christian  ministry. 

"  Vin.  That  the  proposed  bill  is,  in  our  judgment,  radically 
objectionable,  being,  as  it  seems  to  us,  erroneous  in  its  princi- 
pie,  unconstitutional  in  its  spirit,  and  certainly  calamitous,  if 
jjassed,  in  its  operation  ;  that  no  modification  of  it  can  reconcile 
us  to  its  adoption ;  that,  as  religious  rights  are  justly  deemed 
by  a  very  great  body  of  the  people  of  England  to  be  their  best 
and  dearest  rights,  to  which  they  are  most  ti-emblingly  alive, 
the  probable  consequences  of  any  measure  by  whi(,-li  those 
rights  appear  to  be  infringed  are  at  this  eventful  period  most 
earnestly  to  be  deprecated. 

"IX.  That  we  heartily  approve  of  the  intention  whicli  is 
generally  entertained  by  our  societies,  congregations,  and 
friends  througliout  this  district  to  prepare  immediate  petitions 
to  the  Legislature  against  the  bill  now  pending. 

"  X.  That  we  cherish  the  highest  confidence  in  the  wisdom 
and  justice  of  Parliament  as  to  the  success  of  our  petitions 
against  so  obnoxious  a  measure ;  but  that,  should  our  expecta- 


386  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

tious  be  unhappily  disappointed,  we  shall  esteem  it  to  be  our 
indispensable  duty  to  appeal,  for  the  protection  of  our  rights 
in  the  last  instance,  to  the  liberal  principles  and  legal  preroga- 
tives of  his  royal  highness  the  prince  regent,  encouraged  by  his 
gracious  declaration  that  it  is  his  resolution  to  '  deliver  up  the 
Constitution  unaltered'  (and  consequently  the  Toleration  invi- 
olate) '  to  his  royal  father,'  and  fully  persuaded  that  this  illus- 
trious prince  will  never  sanction  a  system  of  restriction  so 
marked  by  innovation,  so  contrary  to  the  tolerant  spirit  of  his 
majesty,  and  so  productive  of  dissatisfaction  and  distress  to  no 
inconsiderable  proportion  of  his  most  loyal  and  most  faithful 
subjects.    . 

"  XI.  That  these  resolutions  be  printed  and  extensively  circu- 
lated ;  and  that  copies  be  respectfully  transmitted  to  the  depii- 
ties  m  London  appointed  to  guard  the  civil  rights  of  the  Dis- 
senters, to  the  committee  of  Protestant  Dissenters  appointed 
at  the  meeting  lately  held  at  the  London  Tavern,  and  to  the 
Protestant  Dissenting  ministers  in  this  county  and  its  vicinity. 

"  XIL  That  a  subscription  be  immediately  opened,  or  collec- 
tions made  in  every  circuit  of  this  district  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  carrying  these  resolutions  into  effect." 

There  are  some  respects  in  which  it  is  interesting  to  compare 
these  resolutions  with  those  which  issued  from  the  connection- 
al  authorities  in  the  metropolis.  While  the  conmiittee  there 
abstained  "  from  all  observations  on  the  abstract  rights  of  con- 
science," and  complained  simply  of  the  jeopardy  to  which  their 
own  community  was  exposed,  my  father  knew,  and  was  careful 
to  declare,  that  all  denominations  of  Nonconformists  must,  as 
to  toleration,  stand  or  fall  together.  The  committee,  too,  while 
recognizing  distinctly  the  "  regular  preachers  who  are  wholly 
devoted  to  the  functions  of  their  office,"  refrained  from  adopt- 
ing the  clear  phraseology  as  to  local  i)reachers  which  my  father, 
in  dealing  with  definitions  for  the  guidance  of  the  Legislature, 
thought  it  indispensable  to  use.  I  do  not  think  that  in  this  or 
in  any  other  case  he  sacrificed  to  truth  and  duty  the  respect 
and  affection  wdiich  he  bore  to  that  important  body.  It  is  cu- 
rious to  observe,  also,  how  he  declines  to  commit  himself  to  the 
assertion  of  the  committee,  that  "  a  large  i)roportion  of  our  so- 
cieties" considered  "themselves  members  of*  the  Established 
Church,"  and  to  the  opinion  that  no  legislative  explanation  of 


HIS  EARLY   MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  837 

the  existing  laws  of  toleration  was  necessary.  lie  differs  from 
them,  moreover,  in  their  declaration  that  "  not  a  shadow  of  a 
charge  is  brought  against  om-  very  numerous  body."  His  ar- 
gument is  that  the  "  mstances  of  abuse"  "  had  been  few  in  nmn- 
ber ;"  that  "  their  recurrence"  had  been,  "  in  part,  already  pre- 
v'ented"  by  Parliament;  and  that  the  Methodists  themselves 
had,  by  internal  regulation,  sufficiently  provided  for  the  case. 

The  events  just  narrated  were  connected  with  an  incident 
which  forms  an  important  epoch  in  my  father's  history. 

"Wliile  this  matter  was  jjending,"  writes  Mr.  Jackson,* 
"they,"  Jabez  Bunting  and  Richard  Watson,  "had  both 
been  preaching  in  Stockport  one  Sunday,  and  met  on  their  way 
to  Manchester  m  the  evenmg,  when  Lord  Sidmouth's  Bill  be- 
came the  princii^al  subject  of  conversation.  They  acknowl- 
edged that,  if  this  bill  were  to  pass  into  a  law,  it  would  be  ru- 
inous to  the  Methodists,  whose  mmistry  is  itmerant,  and  that 
it  would  be  very  injurious  m  its  operation  upon  the  Dissenters 
generally.  The  meeting  of  these  two  eminent  men  appeared 
to  be  casual,  but  subsequent  events  proved  it  to  be  one  of  those 
Providential  arrangements  which  forcibly  impress  every  devout 
and  observant  mind.  Their  interview  led  to  a  pure  and  lasting 
friendship,  from  which  great  advantage  was  derived  both  to 
themselves  and  to  the  cause  of  religion.  Little  did  they  then 
imagme  that,  in  future  years,  they  should  be  successfully  asso- 
ciated together  in  plans  of  extensive  usefulness,  and  especially 
in  the  furtherance  of  the  missionary  cause.  At  Mr.  Bmiting's 
request,  Mr.  Watson  wrote  an  able  and  stirring  letter,  which 
appeared  in  the  'Manchester  Exchange  Herald'  of  May  23d, 
1811,  on  the  subject  of  Lord  Sidmouth's  Bill.  At  that  time 
the  Dissenters  were  not  duly  alive  to  the  evils  vnih  which  this 
measure  was  fraught,  and  a  strong  statement  of  the  case  was 
deemed  necessary  to  rouse  their  opposition." 

Richard  Watson's  biographer  has  not  too  highly  estunated 
the  advantages  Avhich  resulted  from  this  ncAV  intimacy.  Each 
friend  found  in  the  other  what  neither  had  found  before,  and 
that  in  connection  with  habits  of  inquiry  and  of  thought  which 
had  led  to  an  almost  perfect  identity  of  theological  opuiion,  and 
with  a  kindred  sj^irit  of  evangelical  enterprise. 

*  "Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writiugs  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Watson,"  p. 
102,  103. 

VOL.1.— P 


338  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

Nearly  a  generation  lias  jiassed  away  since  TJicharfl  Watson, 
in  the  very  ]>rinK'  of  his  strengtli,  linisla'd  a  course  of  honor 
and  of  usefuhicss  ])ccuUarly  his  own,  and  which  none  who 
knew  liim  ever  aspired  to  emulate.  lu  many  cases  we  hold 
converse  with  the  illustrious  dead  by  means  which  they  them- 
selves have  furnished  to  posterity,  or  by  narratives  which,  to 
general  ability  of  treatment,  and  to  minuteness  of  significant 
detail,  have  added  the  charm  of  sympathy  with  the  departed, 
and  the  power  to  awaken  and  diliuse  it.  But  neither  liis.own 
])ublished  works,  nor  the  funeral  discourse  delivered  by  my 
lather,  nor  even  Mr,  Jackson's  comprehensive  Memoir,  convey 
to  the  reader  uulamiliar  with  Watson  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  majesty  of  his  person,  demeanor,  speech,  and  entire  in- 
tellectual and  moral  character.  It  would  be  difiicult  to  de- 
scribe him  either  by  comparison  or  contrast  with  other  great 
men  of  his  own  time  and  profession.  If  recourse  be  had  to 
other  Churches  (and  no  name  can  be  dishonored  by  the  men- 
tion of  it  in  this  connection),  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  lacked 
much  of  the  fire,  force,  and  fullness  of  Thomas  Chalmers  ;  of 
the  rhetorical  art  and  finish  of  liobert  Hall ;  and  of  tlie  sagac- 
ity and  penetration  which  distinguish  the  Avritmgs  of  John 
Foster ;  but  his  genius  soared  as  high  as  that  of  the  great 
Scotchman,  and  with  a  steadier  wing ;  lie  had  more  of  pro- 
fundity and  breadth  of  thought  than  the  eloquent  Baptist  at 
Leicester;  and  with  his  ])ulpit  exercises  Avas  mingled  a  strain 
of  solemn  and  often  pensive  sentiment,  reminding  one  of  the 
essayist's  best  compositions,  Avhen  lie  dealt  Avith  topics  which 
neither  roused  his  anger,  nor  provoked  his  irony,  nor  j^robcd 
the  sullen  dejiths  of  his  desponding  nature.  Thus  far  I  have 
spoken  of  Watson  as  a  ])reacher.  As  a  man  of  various  power, 
probably  neither  of  the  Bai)tists  was  his  equal.  IVrhajts  it 
would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  in  the  case  of  neither  of 
these  did  circumstances  make  a  demand  upon  latent  faculties 
equal  to  that  which  tasked  the  industry  and  efibrts  of  the  Meth- 
odist. Not  to  si)ecify  other  ])articulars,  both  Hall  and  Foster 
acquired  an  early  rei)Utation  as  writers ;  an  ii-reparable  calam- 
ity in  most  cases,  a  misfortune  in  all.  Quotations  are  more 
frequent  from  the  sermon  which  Hall  first  ])ul)lishetl  than  from 
any  of  his  other  discourses  ;  and  the  interest  which  will  always 
be  felt  in  Foster  centres  in  him  chiefiy  as  the  author  of  the 


niS  EARLY  MINISTRY  AT   LIVERrOOL.  839 

Essays.  To  Chalmers,  Watson's  most  enthusiastic  admii'crs 
nuist  readily  concede  the  palm.  Yet  in  this  case,  also,  circum- 
stances must  be  well  weighed.  It  was  nature  that  endowed 
Chalmers  with  that  rare  union  of  subtlety  with  strength  of  in- 
tellect, and  of  both  with  practical  wisdom ;  with  his  suggestive 
imagination  and  intense  energy,  and  with  the  boundless  chari- 
ties of  his  magnanimous  spirit.  But  "what  a  training  did  lie 
receive,  not  so  much  from  the  education  common  to  the  clergy 
of  his  native  land  as  from  the  great  events  of  his  individual 
history ;  from  his  "  new  birth"  into  religious  consciousness  and 
life,  at  an  age  when  the  characters  of  most  men  have  been 
formed  forever ;  from  the  felt  responsibility  of  an  mipreccdent- 
cd  and  suddenly-acquired  influence  in  the  coimcils  of  a  jjopular 
Church,  and  over  the  fortunes  of  an  intelligent  nation  ;  and,  in 
the  crisis  of  his  career,  from  the  strain  made  upon  his  concen- 
trated abilities  when  ho  argued  with  statesmen  and  defied  Par- 
liaments, and  made  law  itself  quake  and  mumble  as  he  stood 
l^resent  to  listen  to  its  utterances,  all  tlie  while  wielding  majoi-- 
ities  who  lost  their  all  so  surely  as  they  followed  his  lead ; 
combating  with  stolid  or  mgenions  ecclesiastics ;  and,  as  these 
duties  fomid  scarce  and  scanty  interval,  putting  forth  his  hand 
to  sway  the  wills  and  passions  of  vast  multitudes  of  men  brist- 
ling with  impatient  zeal  for  their  religion :  he  just  as  able  to 
control  a  crowd  as  to  expose  the  fallacies  of  a  cabinet  or  to 
con\'iucc  a  s}Tiod  of  divines ! 

Three  men  of  our  own  denomination  have,  during  the  first 
half  of  the  j^resent  century,  stood  conspicuously  above  the  rest 
of  their  brethren.  Robert  Newton's  reno^Ti  rests  upon  qual- 
ities which  do  not  fairly  bring  him  -w-ithin  the  range  of  com- 
parison with  the  other  two.  He  stood  alone — the  prince  of 
Methodist  preachers  to  the  common  people.  Kor  between 
Jabez  Bunting  and  Richard  "Watson  must  the  points  of  resem- 
blance or  of  contrast  be  defined  too  rigorously,  nor  Avith  any 
other  view  than  to  assign  to  each  his  more  distmguishing  ex- 
cellences, and  to  glorify  God  in  both.  The  former  had  at  his 
command  a  greater  variety  and  extent  of  information,  and  Avas 
surpassed  by  no  man  in  clearness  and  promptitude  of  concej)- 
tion ;  in  precision  and  luminousness  of  definition  and  of  state- 
ment ;  in  force,  dexterity,  and  exhaustiveness  of  argument ;  in 
sweeping  energy  and  boldness  of  appeal ;  and,  above  aD,  in 


8-iO  TIIE  LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

that  towering  strength  of  will  which,  combinccl  witli  the  qual- 
ities just  specitied,  creates  the  capacity  for  the  juanagemeut  of 
men  and  for  the  conduct  of  atlairs.  But  Watson  trod  daily, 
with  stately  yet  familiar  air,  the  higliest  walks  of  truth,  and 
not  seldom  presumed  into  the  "  heaven  of  heavens"  itself,  and 
breathed  "  empyreal  air ;"  so  that  he  often  spake  rather  as  one 
haunted  by  the  memories  of  things  which  he  had  heard,  but 
^\•hich  it  was  "  not  lawful"  for  limi  to  utter,  than  as  one  yet 
"  in  the  body."  In  council  he  pronounced — and  that,  gener- 
ally, with  great  wisdom — much  oftener  than  he  attempted  to 
discuss ;  nor  was  it  always  obvious  whether  he  conveyed  the 
results  of  a  judgment  exercised  and  matured  by  close  study  of 
the  question,  or  prompted  by  the  necessities  of  the  occasion 
only.  His  heart  was  full  of  sympathies,  but  perhaps  they  were 
with  ideas  and  with  things  rather  than  with  men ;  for  his  was 
a  proud  spirit,  and  had  been  bruised  at  a  time  when  it  could 
liardly  bear  any  touch  but  that  of  Him  who  made  it.  Yet  how 
vivid  is  the  recollection  of  that  lip,  now  curling  with  scorn,  and 
now  quickly  composed  into  placidity,  and  now  relaxing  into  a 
heavenly  smile !  There  Avere  times  when  ill  health  and  the  in- 
dulgence of  a  desperate  avidity  for  medicine  told  their  tale  in 
alternate  reserve  and  impatience,  but  never  to  the  poor  or  to 
the  consciously  feeble-minded.  Every  body  wondered  at  hun; 
and,  if  but  few  could  get  near  enough  to  love  him,  some  came 
within  the  circle,  and  felt  how  i)leasant  it  was  to  surrender 
themselves  to  that  strange  fiiscination  which  invests  the  most 
trifling  particulars  of  the  character  and  habits  of  men  truly 
great  with  an  almost  absorbing  interest.  So  they  used  to 
watch  him  bore  holes  into  his  hats  and  shoes  to  let  the  air  in ; 
and  to  wait,  Avhen  he  spoke,  to  catch  his  very  few  provincial- 
isms of  pronunciation ;  and  to  try  to  hear  his  casual  talk  with 
circuit  stewards  when  they  called  upon  him  in  a  fuss,  or  with 
Irightened  local  preachers  as  they  walked  liome  with  him  after 
service  in  country  places.  But  his  end !  IIow  did  the  creat- 
ure and  the  sinner  humble  himself  in  the  sight  of  the  holy  God, 
yet  the  saint  "take  hold  of"  the  "strength"  of  the  "faithful 
Creator,"  and  rejoice  in  an  assured  and  everlasting  peace  with 
Him !  Shall  we  ever  "  see  his  like  again  ?"  God  knoweth ! 
There  are  survivors  who  still,  in  not  unfrequent  dreams,  see 
him  in  the  pulpit,  or  walking  in  the  streets,  or  stretching  his 


HIS   EARLY   MINISTRY   AT  LIVERPOOL.  S41 

long  liinbs,  half  sitting  aud  half  recumbent,  in  his  chair  by  the 
fireside;  and  when  they  Avake,  it  is  to  reflect  that,  if  his  short 
but  splendid  career  has  found  no  parallel,  perhaps  none  has 
been  needed ;  and  to  pray  that  the  gifts  still  continued  to  the 
Church  may  be  improved  as  his  were,  and  consecrated  with  his 
simphcity  aud  intensity  of  purj^ose  to  the  honor  of  the  Savior 
and  to  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

My  father  writes  to  Mr.  Grmdrod  on  the  30th  of  May,  1811 : 
"  I  have  now  to  thank  you  for  several  very  kind  and  welcome 
letters,  and  to  entreat  your  pardon  for  my  seenung  inattention 
to  them.  I  never  was  so  fully  and  extraordinarily  occupied  as 
I  have  been  this  year,  partly  by  unusual  public  avocations, 
partly  by  the  frequent  iUness  of  our  children,  and  partly  by  the 
severe  and  protracted  affliction  of  my  mother.  Another  year 
I  hoj^e  to  enjoy  comparative  retirement,  and  consequently  to 
have  more  leisure  for  friendly  corresi^ondence.  It  is  doubtful 
where  my  lot  will  be  cast.  Bradford  and  Bristol  I  have  de- 
clined. Wakefield,  too,  is  rather  farther  from  Manchester  than 
I  Avish  to  go  while  my  mother  fives,  which  it  now  seems  prob- 
able that  she  may  do  for  at  least  some  months  longer.  Mr. 
BartholomcAV,  I  hear,  desires  Huddersfield,  and,  from  his  char- 
acter and  circumstances,  he  has  a  right  to  be  indulged.  The 
only  alternative  seems  at  present  to  be  Halifax  or  Prcscot,  to 
either  of  wliich  I  have  no  objection.  I  have  had  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Asliforth,  which  removes  all  difficulty  about  Sunday  woi'k, 
so  that,  imless  Mr.  Cooj^er  urges  his  prior  claim,  Halifax  is  my 
most  probable  destination.  I  am  not  anxious.  The  Lord  will 
direct.  It  is  now  time  to  give  you  such  intelligence  as  I  chance 
to  possess.  Our  District  meeting  was  held  last  week.  The 
most  interesting  topic  of  discussion  Avas  the  conduct  to  be  pur- 
sued respecting  Lord  Sidmouth's  Bill.  Our  vicAvs  on  that  sub- 
ject you  Avill  learn  from  the  printed  resolutions,  of  which  I 
sent  you  a  copy  on  Saturday.  Those  resolutions,  Avith  a  co- 
pious abstract  of  the  debate,  have  just  been  published  in  a 
pamphlet.  Many  friends,  we  thought,  would  be  glad  to  haA^e 
some  permanent  memorial  of  this  interesting  struggle :  and 
the  profits  of  the  sale  will  defray  our  local  expenses  on  the 
occasion.  Mr.  Gaulter  goes  to  the  Stationing  Committee ;  and 
we  request  that  Mr.  Taylor,  haAdng  traveled  fifty  years,  may 
also  attend.     We  Avish  the  frequency  of  love-feasts  in  coimtry 


842         THE  LIFE  OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

places,  and  tlio  practice  of  some  local  preachers  who  administer 
the  two  sacraments,  to  be  considered  by  Conference,  AVe 
wish  no  preacher  to  be  received  on  trial  who  has  not  passed 
through  the  regular  meetuigs.  We  propose  that  all  the  preach- 
ers, when  admitted  into  full  connection,  shall  be  solemnly  or- 
dained by  imposition  of  haiuls." 

"I  tliank  you  for  your  resolutions^"  writes  Mr. Ilare,  "on 
Lord  Sidmouth's  Bill.  AVheu  we  are  calm,  we  shall  perceive 
that  ^ome  conditions  may  reasonably  be  required  by- a  govern- 
ment which  grants  exemptions  to  ministers  dissenting  from 
the  Establislmient.  But  Avhat  those  conditions  should  be  I  do 
not  exactly  perceive,  nor  is  it  for  us  to  suggest." 

Reference  has  been  already  made  to  a  discussion  about  the 
placmg  of  an  organ  in  one  of  the  chapels  in  the  Liverpool  Cir- 
cuit. This  discussion  was  renewed  with  much  eagerness  dur- 
ing the  last  few  months  of  my  father's  residence  there.  A  new 
chapel  was  in  the  course  of  erection,  into  which  many  persons 
wished  to  introdiice  not  only  an  organ,  but  the  use  of  the 
Sunday  morning  service  of  the  Church  of  England,  Both  ■were 
innovations  at  Liverpool,  though  organs  had  been  permitted 
in  a  few  cases  elscwliere,  and  though  the  reading  of  the  ser- 
vice, either  in  full  or  in  an  abridged  form,  always  sanctioned 
by  Mr.  Wesley  when  service  was  performed  in  our  chapels  in 
England  during  Church  liours,  was  the  subject  of  a  sti^ong 
reconnncndation  by  the  Conference  in  one  of  the  Articles  of  the 
Plan  of  Pacification. 

It  can  scarcely  be  alleged  that  my  father  approached,  free 
from  all  pre^^ous  bias,  the  subject  of  the  employment  of  instru- 
mental music  in  Christian  worshii).  lie  had  no  ear  ibr  music ; 
and  it  has  been  seen  how  he  denounced  the  "  abominations" 
which  had  crept  into  some  of  our  sanctuaries,  where  a  variety 
of  instruments  was  used.  To  such  an  extent  had  this  evil 
grown  in  some  cases,  that  the  enjoined  exercises  of  intelligent 
and  si)iritual  i)raise  gave  ])lace  to  an  elaborate  musical  per-" 
formance ;  and  this  unseemly  violation  of  the  decency  and  good 
order  of  the  house  of  God  became  the  most  prominent  and 
often  the  best-esteemed  portion  of  its  engagements.  Where 
this  extreme  had  not  yet  been  reached,  good  taste  and  devo- 
tion were  often  not  less  slioclced  by  the  rcAeries  of  a  ])]ayer 
ujiuu  a  single  instrument,  generally  a  bass-viol  5  ^v]licll,  beiund 


HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY  AT   LIVERrOOL.  343 

the  back  of  the  preacher  in  the  pulpit,  or  boldly  confronting 
him,  looked  quite  as  important  as  himself,  and  seemed  to  claim 
an  equal  right  to  conduct  the  service.  Many  a  contest,  and, 
I  grieve  to  say,  many  a  parley,  did  the  Conference  hold  with 
this  strange  intruder,  now  challengmg  and  then  conceding  his 
pretensions ;  until,  at  last — for  it  would  not  do  for  a  Confer- 
ence to  fight  a  fiddle — he  obtained  a  passive  toleration,  and, 
Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  kept  wild  and  wanton  carnival. 

My  father  never  liked  him  ;  but  Avhat  was  to  be  done  ?  It 
was  not  the  mind  of  either  Jolm  Wesley  or  of  his  comiection, 
that  the  use  of  instrumental  music  for  religious  purposes  was 
absolutely  unlawful,  or  always  inexpedient.  And  thus,  often, 
the  choice  lay  between  an  abomination  or  a  nuisance  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other  the  authorized  use  of  one  instru- 
ment, consecrated  by  ancient  ecclesiastical  usage  and  associa- 
tion, and  by  a  certain  obvious  appropriateness  to  the  worship 
of  the  Christian  sanctuary.  My  father  preferred  the  latter 
alternative.  But,  as  to  things  which  he  held  to  be  indifferent, 
the  law  of  peace  prevailed  over  all  other  considerations  ;  and 
his  first  inquiry  uniformly  was  whether  permanent  imity  would 
be  promoted  or  endangered  by  a  change. 

Upon  the  subject  of  the  liturgy,  he  laid  claim  to  an  absolute 
impartiality.  When  he  first  engaged  m  the  ministry,  the  nov- 
elty of  reading  the  Morning  Prayers  was  for  a  while  somewhat 
distasteful  to  him ;  but  practice  overcame  this  reluctance,  and 
his  experience  in  Methodism  ultimately  made  liim  a  decided 
friend  to  the  general  use  of  them. 

His  opmions  must  not  be  mistaken.  On  the  abstract  ques- 
tion, perhaps,  they  agreed  with  those  held  by  Presbyterian  au- 
thorities. With  them — I  quote  from  Dr.  John  G.  Lorimer's 
edition  of  Dr.  Miller's  "  Manual  of  Presbytery" — he  did  "  not 
consider  the  use  of  forms  of  prayer  as  in  all  cases  unlawful," 
but  he  did  "  object  to  being  confined  to  forms  of  prayer."  He 
went  farther  than  this,  however ;  for  he  thought  that,  where  a 
congregation  could  be  induced  to  concur  in  a  mode  of  worship 
which  united  the  advantages  of  aLitiu-gy  and  of  extemporane- 
ous address  to  God,  the  case  of  the  people  and  the  general  pm*- 
poses  of  worship  would  be  better  served  than  by  an  adherence 
to  one  of  those  plans  only.  When,  therefore,  the  Liturgy  was 
used  in  the  earUer  ser\dce  of  the  Sabbath,  though  not  even  then 


344  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ   BUNTING. 

to  the  exclusion  of  free  prayer,  while  extemporaneous  exercises 
only  Avere  acloiHed  at  later  ser\-ices,  his  views  and  wishes  -were 
fully  met. 

One  recommendation  of  a  Liturgy  to  his  judgment  wns  the 
obhgation  it  imposes  upon  the  body  of  the  congregation  to  join 
manifestly  and  audibly  in  public  worship,  thus  abolishing  all 
idea  that  the  minister  sustained  to  them  any  priestly  office  or 
relation,  and  placing  him  and  them  in  acts  of  prayer  and  praise 
on  one  common  level  before  God.  Frequent  neglect  of  duty 
on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  occasional  slovenUness  on  the 
part  of  the  minister,  did  not  afiect  the  question.  The  former 
was  generally  the  consequence  of  the  latter,  and  this  miglit  be 
remedied  by  the  diffusion  of  more  correct  views,  and  by  the 
prevalence  of  a  higher  tone  of  religious  feeling. 

Tlie  general  principle  being  settled,  no  doubt  existed  as  to 
the  particular  form  to  be  adopted.  Whatever  objections  may 
be  raised,  and  however  grave,  to  some  other  offices  of  the 
Church  of  England,  its  "  Order  for  Morning  Prayer"  has  com- 
mended itself  to  the  judgment  and  piety  of  most  classes  of 
Christians.  Its  earnest  exhortations  to  repentance ;  its  acts  of 
penitence  and  faith  ;  its  formal  offer  of  the  "  great  salvation ;" 
its  solemn  songs  of  praise,  generally  in  words  "  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth ;"  but  sometimes,  and  not  unfitly,  in  language 
sanctified  by  ancient  piety  and  genius ;  its  orderly  exhibition 
of  the  vmadultcrated  truths  of  Scripture ;  its  simple  creed ;  its 
humble  petitions — each  heart  that  knows  its  own  bitterness 
finding  vent  in  the  common  cry  of  a  sinning  and  suffering  race ; 
its  frequent  use  of  the  Lord's  own  form  of  prayer — for  He  only 
knew  what  was  in  man,  and  could  help  him  to  tell  it  to  His 
Father  and  our  Father,  to  His  God  and  our  God ;  its  cathohc 
intercessions;  its  devout  thanksgivings;  its  mutual  benedic- 
tions*— ^these  form  the  staple  of  the  devotion  of  the  English 

*  "  Though  the  practice  -n-oiild  ill  accord  with  our  conventional  manners," 
says  Dr.  Guthrie,  in  his  rccently-iiuhlished  volume  of  Discourses,  "  that  have 
often  more  of  art  than  of  nature,  I  think,  considering  the  day,  the  iilacc,  the 
purpose  of  the  assembly,  it  were  a  beautiful  and  apjjropriato  thing  when  min- 
ister and  people  meet  in  the  house  of  God,  to  meet  after  the  manner  of  Boaz 
and  his  people ;  the  minister,  on  appearing  in  the  pulpit,  saying.  The  Lord 
he  with  you  ;  and  the  people  responding.  The  Lord  bless  thee."  Tlic  gen- 
erous heart  and  unrivaled  genius  of  my  honored  Presbyterian  friend  have 
led  him  to  pay  an  undesigned  tribute  to  one  excellency  in  the  forms  of  the 


niS   ExVRLY   MINISTRY  AT  LIVERPOOL.  845 

people,  wherever  tlicy  worship,  and  by  Avhatever  name.  It 
matters  not  where  the  ohserAer  of  national  predilections  may 
chance  to  go — to  the  cathedral  or  the  minster,  at  some  high 
festival,  when  deans  keep  drowsy  state,  sometimes  with  a  cer- 
tain air  of  rubrical  pedantry,  not  always  without  an  unseemly 
imitation  of  the  odious  rites  of  popery ;  or  to  quaint  and  quiet 
country  churches ;  or  to  huge,  unsightly  buildings  in  large 
towns,  to  Avliich  nothing  but  a  conscientious  preference  of  the 
Established  religion  could  attract  so  many  worshipers ;  or  to 
square  "  tabernacles ;"  or  to  modern  "  meeting-houses,"  fur- 
nished like  some  smart  citizen's  drawing-room ;  or  to  Meth- 
odist chapels,  plainer  or  more  ornate ;  or  to  village  barns,  to 
which  rude  piety  repairs  to  pray — on  all  the  si:)eU  of  the  old 
familiar  service  lies,  often  with  an  imrecognized  jDotency ;  now 
"  said  or  sung"  after  the  strictest  pattern  of  ecclesiastical  pro- 
priety ;  now  murmured  by  the  few  uncouth  peasants  of  a  ham- 
let ;  now  quoted  largely,  and  with  kindling  fervor,  by  the 
white-haired  pastor  of  a  flock  of  Nonconformists ;  now  read, 
with  more  voice  and  gesture  than  elsewhere,  by  a  godly  Meth- 
odist i^reacher,  or  wrought  into  his  own  unfettered  devotions ; 
and  now  importunately  raised  to  heaven,  incoherently  it  may 
be,  and  in  detached  sentences,  as  memory  can  command  their 
use,  by  the  voice  of  some  j^oor  sinner  who  sues  for  a  present 
and  a  conscious  pardon  in  an  obscure  gathering  for  prayer  and 
fellowshii). 

But  my  father  always  and  strongly  discountenanced  any  at- 
tempt to  enforce  the  use  of  even  this  form,  however  advan- 
tageous, upon  Methodist  congregations.  When  any  large  pro- 
portion of  a  congregation,  deprived  of  what  it  considered  a 
privilege,  was  eager  to  obtain  it,  it  was  his  practice  to  recom- 
mend them  to  wait  until  the  erection  of  some  new  chapel  might 
enable  them  to  gratify  their  desire,  without  introducing  an  in- 
novation, and  arousing  the  spirit  of  strife.  In  no  one  case  dur- 
ing his  ministry  did  he  depart  from  this  course.     On  the  other 

English  Church.  If  it  had  been  present  to  his  recollection,  he  would  read- 
ily have  commended  it.  Not,  indeed,  at  the  commencement  of  the  service, 
but  before  minister  and  people  lift  their  voices  in  consecutive  prayer  to  God, 
they  breathe  a  blessing  on  each  other.  How  "good  and  pleasant"  is  this 
"  unity !"  "  The  Lord  be  with  you  !"  says  the  minister ;  and  the  echo  falls 
sweetly  on  his  ear,  "And  with  thy  Spirit!" 

P2 


346  THE   LIFE   OF  JABEZ  BUNTING. 

liaiid,  lie  thought  Httlc  of  the  foresiglit  and  good  sense  of  those 
Avho  discountenanced  or  dismissed  sucli  forms  when  once  they 
li;\d  met  witli  general  acceptance.  Yet  here  also  he  submitted 
himself  to  the  law  of  i)eacc. 

The  (juestion  of  the  Liverpool  organs  Mas  discussed  at  the 
Conference  of  1811.  My  father  distinguished  himself  greatly 
in  the  debate.  The  case  of  the  ncAv  chapel  presented  an  appro- 
priate sphere  for  the  operation  of  his  general  prmciple ;  and,  in 
the  case  of  the  existing  chapel  in  Pitt  Street,  it  was  his  opin- 
ion, founded  on  personal  observation,  and  anii)ly  justified  by 
subsequent  facts,  that  the  objectors  to  the  organ  would  gladly 
submit  themselves  to  the  decision  of  the  Conference,  should  it 
prove  adverse  to  their  wishes.  The  Conference  sanctioned  the 
introduction  of  both  organs,  and  no  mischief  followed. 

Mr.  Entwisle,  the  superintendent,  to  wliom  the  local  discus- 
sions caused  no  little  anxiety,  consulted  Dr.  Clarke  previously 
to  the  Conference.  He  denounced  the  organs,  but  gave  an  em- 
phatic testimony  as  to  the  use  of  the  Liturgy.  "  With  re- 
spect," he  says,  "to  tlic  introduction  of  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  England,  this  book  I  reverence  next  to  the  book  of 
God.  Next  to  the  Bible,  it  has  been  the  depository  of  the  pure 
religion  of  Christ ;  and,  had  it  not  been  laid  up  there,  and  es- 
taljlished  by  acts  of  Parliament,  I  fear  that  religion  wmild,  long 
ere  tins,  have  been  driven  to  the  wilderness.  Most  devoutly 
do  I  wish  that,  whenever  we  have  service  on  the  forenoon  of 
the  Lord's  day,  we  may  have  the  prayers  read.  This  service 
contains  that  form  of  sound  words  to  which,  in  succeeding 
ages,  an  a])])cal  may  be  successfully  made  for  the  establishment 
of  the  truth  professed  by  preceding  generations.  Had  it  not 
been,  under  God,  for  this  blessed  book,  the  Liturgy  of  the  En- 
glish Church,  I  verily  believe  Methodism  had  never  existed.  I 
see  ])lainly  that,  where  we  read  these  pi-ayers,  our  congrega- 
tions become  better  settled,  better  edilied,  and  ])ut  further  out 
of  the  reach  of  false  doctrine.  Introduce  the  Chureh  service 
in  God's  name;  not  in  any  abridgment^  but  in  the  genuine 
original.  Give  my  love  to  the  blessed  people  in  Liverpool,  and 
tell  them  that  this  is  the  conscientious  advice  of  their  old  serv- 
ant and  most  hearty  well-wisher." 

Of  the  Conference  held  at  Sheflield  in  181 1,  Charles  Atmore, 
a  man  of  popular  talents,  recommeudcd  by  a  pleasant  delivery, 


niS  EARLY   MINISTRY   AT  LIVERPOOL.  347 

and  by  some  polish  of  diction  and  demeanor,  was  appointed 
president.  His  "  Metliodist  Memorial,"  a  record  of  the  lives 
of  the  earliest  preachers  in  the  connection,  is  evidence  of  his 
lively  interest  in  it,  and  contains  much  mteresting  and  instruct- 
ive matter.  Copious  notices  of  him  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazme  for  1845.  The  legislation  of 
the  session  was  not  unimportant.  The  labors  of  local  preach- 
ers were  placed  more  directly  under  the  control  of  the  sui^er- 
intendent,  and  both  they  and  probationers  for  the  ministry 
were  more  strictly  restrained  from  administering  either  of  the 
sacraments.  It  was  directed,  also,  that  the  superintendent 
should  inquire,  at  least  twice  a  year,  into  the  moral  character 
and  official  diUgence  of  all  the  class-leaders,  a  regulation  wliich, 
I  fear,  is  considered  obsolete ;  but  which,  as  enforced  by  John 
Barber  in  the  Bristol  Circuit  about  four  years  afterward,  re- 
sulted in  great  benefits  to  the  societies  in  that  city. 

But,  above  all,  during  this  Conference  a  principle  was  estab- 
lished, to  which  I  have  repeatedly  adverted,  and  the  adojUion 
of  which  must  be  attributed  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  to  my 
father's  patient  and  judicious  exertions.  It  had  become  neces- 
sary to  acquire  a  second  school  for  the  education  of  ministers' 
sons.  Yorkshire  was  selected  as  the  most  favorable  situation. 
It  was  the  largest  pecuniary  enterprise  ia  which  the  Conference 
had  ever  engaged.  Yorkshire  Methodists  were  sensible,  hearty 
and  liberal,  and  it  was  obvious  that  their  services  in  the  man- 
agement of  this  secular  concern  might  be  turned  to  good  ac- 
count. So  six  gentlemen  of  that  county  were  placed  u})on  the 
committee  "appointed  to  superintend  the  fittmg  up  and  fur- 
nishing of  the  academy,  and  to  prepare  it  for  the  purposes  of 
education."  I  believe  no  opposition  was  offi3red  to  this  impor- 
tant measure.  All  that  Dr.  Clarke  had  to  say,  as  he  left  the 
l^latform  of  the  Conference  ere  its  close,  was  to  beg  that  not  a 
single  tree  on  the  estate  about  to  be  purchased  might  be  cut 
down.  Wise  men  sometimes  concern  themselves  greatly  about 
trifles,  while  revolutions  pass  unobservedly  before  then*  eyes. 


APPENDIX. 


A,  page  34. 

A  Translation  of  a  Poem  on  Nothing,  from  the  Latin  of  John  Pas- 
serat,  Regius  Professor  in  the  University/  of  Paris. 

Now  on  this  festive  day  the  new-born  year 
Its  sceptre  o'er  the  world  begins  to  rear. 
Their  wonted  gifts  the  Kalends  now  demand, 
But  ask  in  vain  from  my  impoverish'd  hand. 
Hath,  then,  the  Muses'  stream  forgot  to  flow? 
Is  the  Castalian  spring  at  last  so  low, 
That  this  glad  morn  can  no  salute  obtain, 
Nor  meet  a  welcome  from  the  poet's  pen  1 
Rather  my  muse,  through  paths  unknown  before, 
What  nowhere  is  shall  labor  to  explore  ; 
And,  while  she  searches  all  her  hidden  stores. 
And  o'er  the  treasures  of  fair  Fancy  pores, 
Lo !  she  finds  Nothing  ;  and  she  joys  to  find 
A  theme  to  dire  oblivion  long  consigned. 
Nor  be  my  new-discovered  gift  despised, 
Or,  as  a  worthless  present,  meanly  prized ; 
For  Nothing  can  outshine  the  brightest  gems; 
Nothing  than  gold  still  higher  value  claims. 
Then  to  this  song  attend  ;  with  favor  hear  ; 
For  with  this  gift  the  Muses  hail  the  year. 
I  sing  what  all  the  ancient  bards  forgot — 
A  subject  new,  which  'scaped  their  deepest  thought. 
For  all  things  else  Achaia's  sons  have  told. 
And  Rome's  famed  offspring  labored  to  unfold. 
Yet  Nothing  has  remained  till  now  unsung 
Or  by  Ausonian  or  by  Grecian  tongue. 
Through  every  clime  which  Ceres  views  from  high 
Beneath  the  surface  of  the  spangled  sky. 
Through  every  land  which  the  wide  waves  embrace, 
This  one  great  truth  in  all  you  well  may  trace : 
Nothing  exists  without  a  cause  or  source, 
Nothing  forever  will  preserve  its  force  ; 
Nothing  is  unexposed  to  Death's  arrest ; 
Nothing  with  constant  happiness  is  bless'd. 


350  APPENDIX  A. 

But,  if  to  Nothing  majesty  divine 
And  godlike  power  we  justly  may  assign, 
Render  to  Nothing,  then,  ye  sons  of  earth, 
Honors  supreme,  like  His  who  gave  you  birth  ; 
For  Nothing  pleases  more  th'  enraptured  siglit 
Than  the  gay  .Spring,  or  Sol's  benignant  light. 
Nothing  is  fairer  than  the  liowery  fields, 
And  than  the  western  breeze  more  comfort  yields. 
When  raging  Mars  'mid  blood  and  tumult  reigns, 
Nothing  inviolably  safe  remains. 
Nothing  in  peace  its  every  right  obtains. 
Nothing  security  by  treaty  gains. 
Who  Nothing  has  may  safely  rest  at  ease, 
And,  spite  of  thieves  or  fire,  remain  in  peace. 
His  niind  by  suits  at  law  is  ne'er  oppressed. 
Such  anxious  cares  are  strangers  to  his  breast. 
He  who,  with  Zeus,  subjects  his  all  to  Fate, 
Which  of  its  fixed  decrees  will  ne'er  abate, 
Nothing,  as  wonderful  and  great  admires, 
And,  as  a  gift  replete  with  bliss,  desires. 
And  to  know  Nothing  was  the  selt'-same  good 
As  the  Socratic  sect  taught  and  pursued. 
Nor  is  that  sect,  indeed,  still  quite  expired  ; 
That  is  the  knowledge  now  by  most  desired  : 
Than  this  no  study  youth  more  highly  prize  : 
The  veriest  fools  in  this  would  fain  be  wise. 
Who  Nothing  knows  will  soonest  wealth  obtain, 
And  to  the  height  of  honors  best  attain. 
And,  when  the  grave  Pythagoras  forbade 
His  followers  ever  upon  beans  to  feed, 
The  sage,  t'  express  the  precept's  large  extent, 
And  how  minutely  far  th'  injunction  went, 
Used  a  like  term  with  that,  in  times  of  yore, 
Which  mighty  Nothing  'mong  the  Latins  bore. 
Many  by  arts  alchemic  try  to  obtain 
The  wishcd-for  stone,  through  sordid  hope  of  gain, 
Who,  on  the  wond'rous  secret  quite  intent. 
When,  all  in  vain,  their  whole  estates  they've  spent, 
At  last,  when  toil  and  losses  harass,  then 
Find  Nothing,  and,  though  found,  still  seek  again. 
No  measure  yet,  whate'er,  did  ever  know 
The  vast  extent  of  Nothing  right  to  show ; 
And,  if  a  man  can  number  Afric's  sands, 
Nothing  to  him  innumerable  stands. 


APPENDIX  A.  851 

Nothing  escapes  the  sight  and  piercing  ray 

Of  splendid  Phoebus,  genial  king  of  day  ; 

For  Nothing  a  still  higher  station  hears 

Than  Phcebus'  self,  and  higher  than  the  stars. 

And  you,  O  Memmius,  though  by  all  confessed 

To  be  with  an  uncommon  genius  blcss'd, 

Though  all  the  depths  of  science  you  explore, 

And  to  know  Wisdom's  secrets  nobly  soar, 

E'en  you,  good  sir,  whom  all  a  wonder  deem, 

Still  to  be  ignorant  of  Nothing  seem. 

Yet  Nothing  shines  more  splendid  than  the  suns, 

Or  pure  ethereal  flame,  or  lucid  moon. 

Nothing,  of  substance  and  of  color  void, 

May  still  be  touched,  and  by  the  eye  descried. 

Nothing, though  deaf, can  hear;  though  dumb, can  talk  ; 

And,  without  wings  and  feet,  can  fly  and  walk. 

Nothing  can  swim  'mid  streams  of  liquid  air. 

Although  devoid  of  place  and  motion  there. 

Mankind  from  Nothing  greater  blessings  draws 

Than  wise  Apollo's  healing  labors  cause. 

Let  no  one,  then,  when  pierced  by  Venus'  darts, 

Try  charms,  or  spells,  or  such  like  magic  arts. 

Nor  yet  ascend  the  mountain  grass  to  crop 

Which  grows  on  Ida's  highly  favor'd  top. 

Nothing  assistance  and  advantage  gains 

From  love's  destructive  wounds  and  cruel  chains, 

And,  e'en  if  Charon  over  Styx  transports, 

Nothing  can  still  recall  from  Pluto's  courts  ; 

For  Nothing  can  o'er  Pluto's  heart  prevail, 

And  cause  the  fixed  decrees  of  fate  to  fail. 

O'er  Phlegra's  plains,  poor  Tityus,  destroyed. 

Now  feels,  when  stripped  of  all  his  dear-bought  pride. 

That  to  give  wounds  more  fatal  Nothing  knows 

Than  Jove's  dire  thunders,  urged  against  his  foes. 

Beyond  the  bounds  of  this  terrestrial  sphere 

Nothing  extends.     Nothing  the  gods,  too,  fear. 

But  why  should  I  my  theme  so  far  exhaust  1 

"Virtue  herself  by  Nothing  is  o'erpast. 

Nothing,  in  short,  is  greater  still  than  Jove, 

The  king  of  men  below,  and  gods  above. 

But  now  'tis  time  to  stay  my  trifling  muse. 

Lest,  if  she  should  continue  so  diffuse. 

My  song  on  Nothing,  being  Nothing  worth. 

Should  only  to  deserved  disgust  give  birth. 

Jabez  Bunting. 


352  APPENDIX  B. 

This  poem  from  Passerat  was  translated  in  three  school  exercises :  the 
first  against  Monday,  the  'Jth  of  December,  1793,  as  far  as  the  forty-sixth 
line  inclusive  ;  the  second  against  Tuesday,  the  10th,  from  the  forty-sixth 
to  the  eighty-second  inclusive ;  and  tlie  last  against  Monday,  the  16th, 
from  the  eighty-second  to  the  end.  J.  B. 


B,  page  47. 
Mercantile  Arguments  against  cleansing  the  Streets  of  Manchester. 

Mr.  Printer, — I  have  often  been  surprised  to  observe  the  supineness 
with  which  the  extreme  filth  of  the  streets  of  Manchester  has  been  so 
long  endured.  A  nuisance  so  apparently  disgraceful  ;  so  offensive  and 
disagreeable ;  productive  of  so  much  inconvenience  and  trouble ;  and, 
finally,  so  injurious  to  health  and  life,  by  laying  the  foundation  of  numer- 
ous and  fatal  diseases,  would  rouse,  one  should  think,  the  most  spirited 
exertions  for  its  speedy  removal.  That  such  exertions  have  not  been 
used,  for  an  object  which  might  so  easily  and  cheaply  be  accomplished, 
can  not  be  imputed  to  any  want  of  zeal  for  the  general  good  in  a  com- 
munity eminent  for  its  opulence  and  public  spirit.  And  it  would  be  un- 
just to  charge  a  criminal  inattention  to  salubrity  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
a  town  which  has  the  honor  to  support  several  charitable  institutions  for 
the  restoration  of  health,  and  in  which  a  recent  philanthropic  association 
for  the  express  purpose  of.  preventing  diseases  has  been  liberally  patron- 
ized under  the  title  of  a  Board  ok  Health. 

But  a  motive  has  occurred  to  me  which  seems  of  sufficient  magnitude 
to  account  for  the  patient  sufferance  of  the  evil  above  mentioned.  In  a 
commercial  town,  the  interests  of  the  different  branches  of  trade  ought 
assuredly  to  prevail  over  every  other  consideration ;  and  the  following 
calculations  will  fully  evince  how  much  those  interests  are  affected  by 
the  present  miry  state  of  our  public  streets. 

Suppose  the  number  of  inhabitants  to  be  70,000,  and  that  of  this  num- 
ber 40,000  are  persons  whose  business  requires  them  frequently  to  walk 
the  streets ;  then  it  may  be  fairly  maintained  that  the  inconvenience, 
which  has,  in  this  paper,  been  pointed  out,  must  annually  benefit  the  cev- 
cral  classes  of  tradesmen  nearly  in  the  proportions  set  down  in  the  fol- 
lowing table : 

1.  Shoemakers :  from  the  extraordinary  wear  of  1  pair  of 
shoes  per  annum,  by  40,000  persons,^  at  Gs.  per  pair,  on  an  aver- 
age  JC12,000 

2.  Ditto:   from  the  extraordinary  demand  for  boots,  half 

boots,  clogs,  and  pattens 500 

3.  Hosiers  and  Stocking-weavers :  from  the  extraordinary 
wear  of  two  pair  of  stockings  per  annum,  by  40,000  persons,  at 

3.J.  per  pair,  on  an  average 2,000 


APPENDIX  B.  353 

4.  Tailors :  from  the  sale  of  gaiters^  of  which  we  may  allow 

at  least  1000  extraordinary  pairs,  at  3^.  each X'150 

5.  Clothiers,  Mercers,  Drapers,  Tailors,  etc.  :  from  the  inju- 
ry done  to  wearing  apparel  by  splashing  in  winter  and  the  aug- 
mented dust  in  summer,etc 1,000 

6.  Apothecaries,  Druggists,  Nurses,  etc.  :  from  the  extraor- 
dinary applications  for  medicine  and  medical  advice  and  attend- 
ance during  sickness,  in  consequence  of  the  insalubrity  of  the 

filth 1,500 

7.  Upholsterers,  Brush-makers,  Coopers,  etc.,  etc. :  from  the 
damage  done  to  carpets  and  other  furniture  by  dirt  conveyed 
into  houses,  and  from  the  increased  consumption  of  brushes  and 

other  articles  used  in  cleaning  houses 1,000 

8.  Soap-boilers  and  Washer-women :  from  the  large  addition 
to  the  business  of  the  wash-house  in  consequence  of  stockings 
and  other  apparel,  especially  that  of  females,  necessarily  dirtied 

by  the  mire 5,000 

N.B. — The  washing  of  stockings  alone,  reckoning  an  addi- 
tion of  10,000  pairs,  weekly,  from  the  filth  of  the  street,  amounts, 

at  Id.  per  pair,  to  .£2166  13^.  id.  per  annum  

33,150* 

9.  To  the  foregoing  estimate  should  be  added  the  annual  ex- 
penditure of  the  country  tradesmen,  market-people,  and  occa- 
sional visitors,  arising  from  the  same  cause,  which  might  be 
justly  rated  at  a  sum  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  inhabitants,  but 

must  certainly  greatly  exceed  one  half,  amounting,  therefore,  to    16,575 

49,725 

10.  I  can  not  omit  to  subjoin,  as  an  important  object  of  ex- 
penditure, though  perhaps  it  may  be  considered  as  a  deduction 
from  the  foregoing  calculations  of  commercial  benefits,  the  loss 
of  labor  by  confinement  from  colds,  consumptions,  rheumatisms, 
and  other  disorders,  contracted  by  standing  and  walking  in  the 

wet  and  miry  streets 1,000 

jC50,725t 

It  is  an  old  and  generally-received  observation,  that  a  penny  saved  is 
a  penny  got.  But,  in  the  present  enlightened  state  of  the  world,  we 
properly  treat  antiquated  and  vulgar  maxims  with  contempt.  Let  us 
therefore,  my  fellow-citizens,  cheerfully  acquiesce  in  the  weighty  rea- 
sons here  advanced,  and  generously  persevere  in  wading  through  dirt 
and  filth,  since  it  appears  that  an  expenditure  of  so  many  thousands  per 
annum  will  be  thereby  produced,  to  the  manifest  encouragement  of  trade, 

*  This  sum  total  is  -nTong  by  just  ten  thousand  pounds !     So  much  for  statistics ! 
t  And  this,  therefore,  by  fifteen  thousand  pounds. 


35-1  APPENDIX  C. 

aiul  to  ilie  great  benefit  of  tlic  poor  manufacturers  and  others  in  these 
hard  times.  J.  B. 

JSovcmber  22d,  1796, 


C,  page  64. 
The  Lawfulness  of  bearing  Arms  m  defensive  Warfare. 

1.  The  arguments  which  were  stated  in  the  papers  read  at  our  last 
meeting  will  warrant  the  assertion  that,  in  case  of  emergency,  every  man 
who  possibly  can  ought  to  come  forward  in  any  way  whatever  in  which 
his  services  are  most  likely  to  be  successful ;  trusting  in  the  Providence 
of  God  to  keep  him  from  those  spiritual  dangers  which  attend  this  pain- 
ful but  necessary  duty,  and  to  give  grace  according  to  the  day. 

2.  At  present,  however,  it  would  seem  that  the  danger  does  not  ap- 
pear to  government  to  be  of  so  innninent  and  pressing  a  nature  as  to  call 
for  an  immediate  and  universal  arming  of  the  mass  of  the  people.  If 
this  were  the  case,  some  plan  would  doubtless  have  been  proposed  which 
would  render  such  a  universal  arming  practicable.  Till  the  executive 
government  of  the  country  deem  it  necessary  to  require  the  adoption  of 
some  such  plan,  I  think  religious  persons  in  general  are  not  particularly 
called  upon  to  come  forward  in  any  way,  much  less  in  the  way  of  joining 
battalions  of  regular  soldiers  or  corps  of  vohmteers. 

3.  If,  however,  the  cause  of  religion  is  very  likely  to  sufler  any  mate- 
rial injury  from  the  refusal  of  a  professor  of  religion  to  join  our  volunteer 
establishments,  then  I  think  lie  ought  conscientiously  and  cheerfully  to 
join  them  in  the  common  defense,  altiiough  some  circumstances  attend- 
ing those  establishments  may  be  so  unpleasant  to  a  pious  mind  as  to 
make  him  rather  hold  back  than  otherwise  till  the  necessity  of  his  arm- 
ing should  be  more  apparent. 

Servants  in  particular,  whose  employers  importune  them  to  come  for- 
ward, should  not  manifest  any  improper  backwardness,  lest  the  odium  of 
disaffection  should  be  cast  on  those  who  support  a  religious  character. 

When  we  do  not  rush  into  situations  of  spiritual  danger  rashly  and 
unnecessarily,  but  are  placed  in  them  by  Providence,  we  have  a  right  to 
expect  the  peculiar  blessing  of  God  to  preserve  us  in  those  situations; 
and  if  we  continue  to  watch  and  pray,  steadily  resisting  temptation,  and 
keeping  a  single  eye  to  God's  glory,  so  that  our  zeal  for  our  country's 
honor  and  happiness  is  not  tainted  and  marred  by  any  intermixture  of 
improper  motives  and  principles,  the  promise  of  preserving  grace  shall 
be  "  yea  and  amen"  to  us. 

Will  it  be  said  that  the  defense  of  the  country  ought  to  be  left  to 
worldly  and  unregenerato  men,  and  that  men  truly  serious  and  religious 
should  abstain  from  taking  any  part  in  the  contest?  Are  tliey,  in  this 
sense,  to  "  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  God,"  if  indeed  God  means 


APPENDIX  D.  355 

to  save  us,  or  to  see  with  equal  indolence  and  unconcern,  if  ruin  is  to  be 
our  lot,  the  destruction  of  the  freedom  and  independence  of  tlieir  coun- 
try, the  removal  of  their  religious  privileges,  the  violation  of  tlieir  per- 
sons and  properties,  and,  at  last,  to  receive,  when  the  good-will  and 
pleasure  of  some  furious  and  licentious  soldier  shall  think  fit  to  inflict  it, 
the  fatal  poniard  that  shall  dismiss  them  from  the  stage  of  life  1  If  this 
be  Christian  doctrine  or  Christian  practice,  well  may  infidels  triumph. 
No  Deist  surely  ever  invented  a  more  atrocious  libel  against  the  Gospel 
of  Him  who  is  "  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judali"  as  well  as  "  the  Prince 
of  Peace."  If  revealed  religion  takes  away  that  right  of  self-defense 
which  the  God  of  Nature  has  conferred,  and  which  natural  religion  has 
sanctioned  ;  if  Christianity  unmans  mankind,  and  prohibits  the  fulfillment 
of  the  social  duties  ;  if  the  love  of  our  country  is  inconsistent,  according 
to  the  Bible  scheme,  with  the  love  of  God,  then  the  Christian  cause  is 
lost.  But  we  "  have  not  so  learned  Christ."  Infidels,  indeed,  have  often 
urged  this  very  objection  to  our  religion  ;  but,  by  an  appeal  to  the  oracles 
of  our  faith  and  to  the  practice  of  the  faithful,  it  has  been  shown  that  the 
objection  is  ill  founded. 

No  man  has  such  strong  and  forcible  motives  as  the  real  Christian  to 
abound  in  every  good  word  and  work,  whether  to  his  friends,  his  coun- 
try, or  his  fellow-creatures  in  general.  Acting  from  conscientious  con- 
siderations, and  taking  into  his  enlarged  estimate  a  view  of  the  injury 
which  threatens  the  cause  of  God,  he  has  grounds  of  resistance  on  which 
none  but  he  can  stand,  and  inducements  to  fortitude  which  none  but  he 
can  feel.  His  sources  of  consolation,  too,  are  greatest  in  the  time  of 
trial,  and  he  is  best  prepared  for  every  event. 


D,  page  64. 

Hoio  far  is  a  pcrso7i  sanctified  at  the  time  he  is  justified?* 

In  order  that  this  question  may  be  satisfactorily  answered,  it  is  requi- 
site that  some  determinate  meaning  should  be  affixed  to  the  icxms  justi- 
Jication  and  sanctification. 

1.  By  justification  is  meant  that  gracious  and  unmerited  act  of  God 
whereby,  in  consideration  of  the  Atonement  and  Intercession  of  Christ, 
He  absolves  and  acquits  the  penitent  believer  fi'om  the  guilt  and  punish- 
ment of  past  sin,  pardons  his  past  transgressions,  receives  him  into  His 
favor  and  family,  and  treats  him  with  the  same  regard  and  favor  as  if  he 
were  actually  righteous  or  just. 

2.  Sanctification  is  a  general  term  which  signifies  the  being  made 
pure  and  holy.  This  includes  two  ideas  :  I .  Separation  from  the  world 
and  sin  ;  2.  Dedication  and  devotion  to  God. 

*  It  will  be  remembererl  thnt  this  pnperia  inserted  here  to  illiustrate  the  iviitei's  "powers 
of  thought  aud  style"  at  a  very  early  age. 


356  AITENDIX  D. 

Sanctification  used  in  tliis  pcneral  sense,  evidently  admits  of  various 
degrees.  A  man  may  be  more  or  less  separated  Ironi  sin,  and  more  or 
less  given  up  to  God. 

It  is  equally  evident  that  every  justified  person  is  in  some  degree 
sanctified.  Jle  is  so  sanctified,  at  least,  as  is  allowed  on  all  hands,  as  to 
be  separated  or  freed  from  all  outward  sin,  which  he  has  learned  to  lice 
from  as  from  the  face  of  a  serpent;  and  he  is  so  far  sanctified,  at  least, 
as  is  likewise  allowed  on  all  hands,  that  his  life,  in  its  general  course  and 
tenor,  is  a  life  of  devotion  to  C4od  :  to  please  and  glorify  God  is  the  gen- 
eral, ruling  motive  of  his  soul. 

The  term  "  sanctification,"  however,  is  frequently  used  in  a  less  gen- 
eral and  more  limited  sense,  and  is  used  among  the  Methodists  to  ex- 
press that  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  Grace  which  completely  removes 
the  natural  antipathy  to  God  and  holiness,  utterly  subverts  the  natural 
ascendency  and  dominion  of  the  flesh  over  the  spirit,  and  frees  a  man- 
from  every  part  of  that  carnal  mind  which  is  enmity  against  God  ;  in 
other  words,  a  man  is  said  to  be  sanctified  when  he  is  so  filled  with  love 
to  God,  and  with  love  to  man  for  God's  sake,  as  utterly  to  subdue  and 
extinguish  all  unholy  tempers,  aflections,  and  dispositions. 

In  this  limited  sense  I  conceive  the  term  sanctification  is  used  in  the 
question  before  us,  which,  therefore,  may  be  stated  thus  :  Wiien  a  man 
is  justified,  is  he  so  far  sanctified  as  to  be  totally  freed  from  the  carnal 
mind  ?  Or  thus  :  When  a  man  receives  the  Spirit  of  Adoption,  which 
gives  him  the  knowledge  of  salvation  by  the  remission  of  his  sins,  is  he 
so  far  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind  as  to  love  God  with  a  supreme 
affection,  and,  by  that  love,  to  be  purified  from  all  imholy  tempers  ? 

and maintain  the  negative  of  these  questions.     They 

assert  that,  though  a  justified  person  is  in  part  sanctified,  he  is  not  so  far 
sanctified  as  to  experience  the  utter  destruction  of  the  carnal  mind.  His 
heart  is  still  the  seat  of  unholy  tempers  and  dispositions.  He  feels  the 
risings  of  anger,  peevishness,  pride,  etc.,  which  he  often  finds  it  hard 
work  to  subdue.  He  is  often,  by  these  contending  principles,  tossed  up 
and  down  ;  sometimes  happy,  and  sometimes  cast  down  ;  sometimes  alive 
to  God,  sometimes  lukewarm  and  careless.  13ut,  when  he  comes  to 
God  a  second  time  by  faith  in  Christ,  he  is  delivered  from  the  remains 
of  the  carnal  mind;  he,  for  the  first  time,  loves  God  with  all  his  heart; 
and  this  "  perfect  love  casts  out"  not  only  all  tormenting  "  fear,"  but  all 
anger,  pride,  and  every  other  wrong  disposition  and  temper.  In  support 
of  this  view  of  the  subject,  they  say, 

I.  These  two  branches  of  conversion,  justification  and  sanctification, 
arc  entirely  distinot  from  each  other  in  their  nature.  The  one  consists 
in  the  reception  of  mercy  fi)r  the  past,  the  other  in  the  reception  of  such 
a  degree  of  renewing  grace  as  purifies  the  soul,  and  enables  it  to  live  to 
God  for  the  time  to  come.  Now,  that  justification  and  sanctification  are 
distinct  in  their  nature,  is  not  denied  ;  it  is  only  contended  that  God  nev- 


APPENDIX  D.  357 

er  eflects  the  one  work  without  the  other ;  that,  whenever  a  man  is  just- 
ified, he  is  also  delivered  from  tlic  carnal  mind  ;  and  that  these  two  works 
together  constitute  Conversion,  or  the  New  Birth. 

II.  They  allege  a  passage,  1  Cor.,  iii.,  1,  where  the  Apostle  calls  the 
Corinthians  "babes  in  Christ,"  "■carnal.''''  To  this  it  is  answered,  1. 
That  it  may  be  a  strong  oratorical  expression,  not  intended  to  be  under- 
stood as  positive  assertion,  but  as  a  caution  and  warning.  2.  That  a 
person  who  has  been  once  delivered  from  the  carnal  7nind  may  never- 
theless occasionally  yield  to  temptation,  and  be  guilty  of  some  carnal 
act ;  but  this  docs  not  prove  that  he  was  never  fully  renewed,  but  that 
he  has,  in  some  degree,  fallen  from  grace,  and  needs  again  to  be  renew- 
ed. 3.  The  apostle,  in  this  same  chapter,  tells  the  very  same  persons 
that  they  are  holy, "  the  temple  of  God.'''  4.  A  single  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, like  this,  can  not  be  urged  to  prove  any  point  of  doctrine,  unless  its 
meaning  were  clear,  express,  and  unequivocal,  which  is  by  no  means  the 
case. 

III.  They  urge  the  experience  of  many  thousands  of  Christians,  who, 
while  in  a  justified  state,  have  felt  the  existence  of  unholy  tempers  ;  they 
have  felt  themselves  to  be  proud,  revengeful,  angry,  etc.  ;  but,  coming 
afresh  to  God,  they  have  been  instantaneously  and  fully  delivered.  That 
many  persons  who  have  been  clearly  justified  do,  some  time  after  their 
justification,  feel  evil  tempers,  is  matter  of  fact ;  but  the  point  is.  Have 
not  these  persons  lost  some  degree  of  their  '■'■first  love  V  At  the  time 
when  God  first  converted  their  souls  they  felt  none  of  these  evils.  Their 
hearts  overflowed  with  pure  love.  But,  by  not  walking  sufficiently  in 
the  exercise  of  faith,  by  unwatchfulness,  or  by  neglect  of  prayer,  they 
have,  in  a  degree,  relapsed,  backslidden  from  God.  They  have,  there- 
fore, need  to  be  again  renewed  and  cleansed  ;  and,  if  they  see  this  need, 
and  come  again  as  at  first  they  came,  God  does  speak  the  second  time, 
"  Be  clean.'"  But  this  does  not  prove  that  they  were  never  cleansed  be- 
fore, any  more  than  my  hands  having  been  dirty  last  night,  or  my  hav- 
ing washed  them  this  morning,  proves  that  they  had  always  been  dirty 
till  this  morning,  or  that  they  had  never,  in  all  my  life,  been  washed  be- 
fore. 

Having  thus  answered  the  arguments  alleged  to  prove  the  negative 
of  the  question,  those  who  maintain  the  affirmative  advance  the  following 
reasons : 

I.  It  is  surely  allowed  that  a  justified  person,  if  he  were  instantly  to 
die,  would  go  to  heaven.  But,  on  the  supposition  that  this  justified  per- 
son is  unholy,  if  the  carnal  mind  be  not  fully  removed,  how  can  he  see 
the  Lord  1  Can  light  dwell  with  darkness ;  a  depraved  and  unrenewed 
sinner  with  a  pure  and  holy  God  ? 

II.  If  a  man  is  not  fully  delivered  from  evil  tempers  when  he  is  justi- 
fied, and  if  that  deliverance  must  necessarily  be  a  subsequent  work,  how 
happens  it  that,  in  the  New  Testament,  there  are  no  instances  of  it  re- 


o5b  APPENDIX  E. 

corded'?  For  instance,  we  read  of  St.  Paul's  being  convinced,  and  we 
read  of  his  being  converted ;  but  we  nowhere  read  of  his  feeling,  in  a 
few  mouths  or  years  after  conversion,  the  remains  of  a  carnal  mind,  or 
of  his  being  suddenly  and  powerfully  delivered  from  them.  Is  it  not  a 
fair  inference  that,  at  his  conversion,  he  was  both  justified,  and  so  far 
sanctified  as  to  be  freed  from  the  carnal  mind,  and  that  he  held  fast  this 
great  salvation,  and,  having  never  lost  it,  did  not  need  to  have  it  restored 
to  him  ?  And  if  St.  Paul  held  fast  the  purifying  love  imparted  at  con- 
version, why  may  not  we  1 

III.  Allowing,  for  argument's  sake,  that  justification  and  sanctification 
are  distinct  works  in  point  of  time  as  well  as  of  nature,  at  what  distance 
of  time  from  justification  is  it  possible  to  attain  sanctification  1  In  twen- 
ty years'?  Then  why  not  ten,  or  five,  or  one?  Why  not  in  one  month, 
or  week,  or  day  ?  Why  not  in  one  hour  or  half  an  hour?  If  in  half  an 
hour,  why  not  in  one  minute  after"?  Till  these  questions  are  answered, 
no  reason  appears  to  contradict  the  idea  that  conversion,  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  that  term,  is,  in  point  of  time,  one  ivor/i,  though  in  point  of  na- 
ture it  consists  of  two  distinct  parts — ^justification,  and  such  a  degree  of 
sanctification  as  to  be  freed  from  all  the  carnal  mind.  Thus  "  old 
things"  are  done  away — old  evil  tempers,  as  well  as  the  guilt  and  con- 
demnation of  old  sins — and  "all  things  become  new:"  not  only  is  the 
man's  condition,  character,  and  denomination  changed,  so  that  the  heir 
of  hell  and  child  of  Satan  becomes  a  child  of  God  and  heir  of  heaven, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  his  whole  frame  and  constitution  of  mind  are  also 
changed.  He  has  not  only  a  title,  but  a  meetness  for  heaven.  And  so, 
his  nature  being  changed,  both  the  witnesses  are  joined,  the  Spirit  of 
God  and  his.  lie  may,  however,  lose  his  first  love ;  he  may;  by  un- 
watchfulness,  quench  the  operation  of  "  the  Spirit  of  burning,"  which 
alone  could  cleanse  or  keep  him  clean ;  by  this  means  evil  tempers  may 
again  have  dominion  over  him.  In  this  case,  let  him  see  his  need  of 
being  again  cleansed ;  let  him  come  by  faith  to  the  fountain  opened,  and 
he  may  again  be  thoroughly  and  instantaneously  purified. 


E,  page  68. 
Directions  concerning  Prayer  and  Prayer-meetings. 

1.  Let  us  endeavor  to  have  a  constant  sense  of  the  attributes  of  the 
Almighty  deeply  impressed  upon  our  minds,  in  order  to  prevent  trifling 
and  frivolous  expressions  from  proceeding  out  of  our  mouths. 

2.  Let  us  remember  that  wc,  unworthy,  sinful,  depraved,  and  rebellious 
creatures,  have  authority  to  approach  our  Sovereign  and  Creator  by  one 
"  new  and  living  way"  only,  the  Lord  Jesus  Clirist. 

3.  Let  us  keep  the  lamp  of  Divine  life  burning  with  great  brightness 
in  our  own  souls,  remembering  that  our  prayers  will  languish  and  droop 
in  exact  proportion  to  the  state  of  our  own  souls. 


APPENDIX  E.  359 

4.  Let  us  never,  or  as  seldom  as  possible,  begin  to  pray  in  public  with- 
out having  obtained  a  previous  and  secret  interview  with  God.  By  this 
means  we  are  ready  to  enter  into  immediate  converse  with  Him,  without 
the  passing  of  much  introductory  ceremony,  which,  however  necessary  to 
ourselves,  may  be  unprofitable  to  others.  This  direction  is,  however,  in 
a  great  measure,  or  totally,  superseded  by  living  in  a  continual  spirit  of 
prayer.  O  desirable  state !  O  "  rejoice  evermore,  pray  without  ceas- 
ing," and  "  in  every  thing  give  thanks  !" 

5.  Let  us  never  pray  long  at  one  and  the  same  time.  In  prayer-meet- 
ings this  is  sadly  too  frequent,  but  is  very  unpleasant  and  uncdifying.  Not 
one  in  a  thousand  is  qualified  to  pray  for  twenty  minutes  (though  many  do, 
and  presume  themselves  able  to  continue  a  longer  time)  without  using 
many  very  irksome  and  tedious  repetitions And  if,  in  prayer-meet- 
ings, there  should  not  be  a  sufl[icient  number  of  people  to  fill  up  the  usual 
time  with  ten-minute  prayers,  let  the  same  persons  exercise  two  or  three 
separate  times  rather  than  continue  long  at  one  and  the  same  time.  But 
this  direction  must  admit  of  particular  cases  of  indulgence.  If  a  person 
should,  as  Dr.  Watts  somewhere  remarks,  be  led  out  of  his  general  usage 
by  some  uncommon  communication  or  comprehension  of  Divine  goodness 
while  in  the  office  of  prayer,  it  would  be  criminal  indeed  to  desire  to  con- 
tract the  then  widened  range  of  agonizing  prayer  or  of  ardent  praise. 

G.  In  like  manner,  let  us  never  sing  long  at  one  time.  Three  or  four 
verses  at  the  opening  of  a  meeting,  with  a  single  striking  verse,  or  two 
short  ones,  between  every  prayer,  are  quite  sufficient.  Variety  is  very 
pleasing  ;  it  engages  the  faculties  of  attention,  and  may  thereby  lend  some 
degree  of  force  to  the  wings  of  our  affections. 

7.  Another  direction  has  often  appeared  extremely  necessary,  viz.,  that 
every  prayer-leader  should  store  in  his  memory  a  variety  of  verses  of 
hymns,  suitable  to  the  circumstance  of  entering  upon  prayer,  which  should 
be  given  out  extempore,  without  being  compelled  to  have  recourse  to  a 
book,  and  to  make  the  people  wait  till  it  be  turned  over  to  find  something 
proper  for  the  occasion The  singing  for  the  middle,  and  not  for  the  be- 
ginning of  the  meeting,  is  here  intended  ;  and  surely  any  one  must  dis- 
cover that  a  verse  or  two  so  delivered  has  generally  a  much  happier  ef- 
fect. 

8.  It  will  be  well  for  one  who  can  read  properly  to  read  sometimes  a 
short,  striking  chapter,  or  part  of  one,  or  a  chapter  out  of  the  Christian 
Pattern,*  or  a  section  out  of  Mason's  Remains. 

9.  Let  us  never  attempt  affected  or  lofty  expressions,  to  make  our- 
selves thought  of  highly  by  man.  God  hateth  this  with  a  most  perfect 
hatred.  ^Yhat !  can  we,  shall  we,  dare  we  go  into  the  presence  of  that 
incomprehensibly  wise  and  powerful  Being,  the  Almightv,  with  such  sin- 
ister intentions,  or  think  to  captivate  his  ear  with  elegant  sentences  and 
high-dressed  diction  'i '   Let  us  shudder  lest  He  sweep  us  from  His  pres- 

*  By  Thomas  i\  Kempis. 


360  APPENDIX   E. 

ence  into  eternal  darkness  for  our  strange  presumption.  '■'■God  be  merci- 
ful to  inc,  a  ^/?i?ic?","  is  an  example  of  simplicity  worthy  of  imitation, 
and  recommended  to  us  by  Christ  himself. 

10.  If  we  are  not  already  delivered  from  all  evil  jealousies  about  prec- 
edency— about  another  praying  belbre  or  better  than  ourselves,  let  us 
not  cease  to  recjuest  a  deliverance  at  the  Lord's  hands  from  such  uncom- 
fortable and  unchristian  surmisings.  'Tis  good  to  take  contentedly  the 
lowest  seat.     '■''God  resislcth  the  proud  hut  givcth  grace  to  the  humble.'''' 

11.  Never  hold  jirayer-meetings  in  the  house  of  any  persons  of  doubt- 
ful character,  or  of  such  as  do  not  live  peaceably  with  their  neighbors. 

12.  Let  us  always  endeavor  to  present  ourselves  in  every  public  duty 
of  religion,  yea,  and  private  also,  in  the  spirit  of  faith  and  of  full  expecta- 
tion ;  and,  if  our  hearts  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  we  shall  never  be 
wholly  disappointed.  When  we  have  labored  in  prayer,  and  have  nei- 
ther seen  nor  felt  any  fruit  of  our  labor,  let  us  not  rest  ourselves  contented 
as  though  the  Lord's  presence  had  been  evidently  among  us.  'Tis  an 
unpleasant  symptom  when  we  are  not  pained  at  our  own  unprofitableness. 
I  am  informed  of  one  person  (and  I  trust  there  are  more)  who,  when  he 
has  labored  in  public,  and  has  not  discovered  the  happy  effects  of  Divine 
power  accompanying  his  labors,  is  often  so  troubled  in  spirit  as  not  to  be 
able  to  sleep  the  succeeding  night,  but  rises  during  the  frequent  intervals 
of  interrupted  rest  to  wrestle  with  the  Lord  in  prayer.  Would  to  God 
that  every  Christian  man  possessed  the  same  earnest  and  laudable  zeal ! 
However,  sure  it  is  that  self-examination  and  secret  prayer  are  the  cer- 
tain handmaids  to  public  usefulness  and  to  private  happiness. 

13.  Let  us  never  use  expressions  in  prayer  without  a  feeling  sense  of 
what  we  are  saying,  remembering  that  God  assuredly  discerns  our  hy- 
pocrisy and  insincerity.  Let  us  say  whatever  we  may  or  can,  much  or 
little,  with  fluency  or  with  stammering,  but  let  it  be  from  the  heart.  Far 
better  for  us  only  to  groan  in  secret  than  to  tell  the  Lord  in  public  this 
tale  or  the  other,  when  we  are  conscious  it  is  not  so  in  reality.  Paul 
says, "  I  u-ill  pray  ivith  the  Spirit ;"  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  sin- 
cerity and  truth. 

14.  And,  lastly,  there  is  a  custom  introduced  into  some  prayer-meetings 
of  applying  loud  Aniens,  etc.,  to  the  confessions,  prayers,  or  praises  of 
another,  when  it  is  evident  that  some  persons  so  doing  do  not  attend  to 
the  expressions  just  delivered.  Now,  as  this  may  hurt  some  weak  minds, 
it  should,  if  possible,  be  avoided,  while  we  labor  to  '■^pray  not  only  tcith 
the  Spirit,  but  xoith  the  understanding  also.""  But  yet,  let  none  conclude 
from  hence  that  the  practice  of  joining  hearty  Amcns  is  altogether  im- 
proper. No;  hear  Gouge  on  the  Whole  Armor  of  God,  printed  IGIO, 
fully  to  the  purpose  :  "  The  ordinary  way  and  the  best  way  for  people  to 
manifest  their  consent  when  a  person  is  praying  is  with  a  distinct  and 
audible  voice  to  say  Amen.  This  was  commanded,  Dcut.,  xxvii.,  15,  etc. ; 
and,  accordingly,  it  was  practiced,  Nch.,  viii.,  G.     It  is  a  sound  well  be- 


APPENDIX  F.  361 

seeming  God's  public  worship,  to  make  the  place  ring  again,  as  we  speak, 
witli  a  joint  Amen  of  the  people.  The  Jews  uttered  this  word  with  great 
ardency,  and  therefore  used  to  double  it,  saying,  Amen — A?ncn.  Neh., 
viii.,6." 

It  is  requested  that  this  may  be  put  into  the  hands  of  such  as  are  ac- 
customed to  exercise  in  prayer-meetings  ;  and  the  Lord  give  His  blessing 
with  it ! 


F,  page  75. 
Samuel  Bradburn,  with  Notices  of  Dr.  Bunting. 

THE  REV.  ISAAC  KEELING  TO  THE  BIOGRAPHER. 

B<itli,  December  lltli,  1S5S. 

On  the  subjects  of  inquiry  in  your  last  favor  I  have  lively  remem- 
brances, which  I  place  at  your  service. 

I  heard  Mr.  Bradburn  twice  when  I  was  a  boy,  and  a  few  years  after- 
ward, while  I  was  still  very  young.  I  first  heard  Dr.  Bunting  at  New- 
castle-under-Lyne,  when  Mr.  Morley  was  the  superintendent.*  There 
was  nothing  in  Dr.  Bunting's  sermon  or  manner  to  remind  me  of  Brad- 
burn. There  was  nothing  in  common  with  them  except  the  general  re- 
semblance that  both  were  masterly,  for  the  mastery  in  each  was  charac- 
teristically distinct.  Your  father  could  not  hear  such  men  as  Benson  and 
Bradburn  frequently  without  having  his  habits  of  thought  imperceptibly 
influenced.  Great  contemporaries,  who  know  much  of  each  other,  are 
mutually  and  unconsciously  acted  upon,  while  still  retaining  their  own 
natural  character  as  men  of  mind.  But  those  who  try  to  put  on  the 
lion's  skin  are  the  ambitious  dunces,  the  conceited  asses.  Men  of  j'our 
father's  stamp  are  eloquent,  not  by  imitation,  but  from  fullness  of  clear 
thought  and  energy  of  feeling,  with  facility  and  power  of  expression.  I 
think  that  when  Dr.  Bunting  "  waxed  boldly  oratorical"  he  was  nearer 
to  the  manner  of  Benson  than  Bradburn.  Benson  and  your  father  were 
mighty  in  peroration,  and  addressed  the  conscience  more  especially  than 
I  suppose  Bradburn  did. 

When  I  first  heard  your  father  he  had  completed  his  sixth  year  of 
traveling,  and  was  leaving  London  for  Manchester.  He  was  pale,  and, 
though  of  full  habit,  appeared  in  delicate  health.  I  was  told  he  had  al- 
most fainted  that  morning.  Perhaps  he  was  exhausted  by  the  labors  of 
the  preceding  Conference,  which  had  just  terminated.  His  preaching 
reminded  me  of  no  one.  It  was  like  the  calm,  unrippled  flow  of  deep 
waters.  It  was  an  even,  continuous  stream  of  masculine  sense,  evincing 
thoughtful  piety,  sagacious  discernment,  and  copious  information,  ex- 
pressed in  pure,  proper,  transparent  language,  and  delivered  with  unfal- 
tering ease  and  quiet  power.     The  text  was  either,  "  Let  us  hold  fast 

•  See  p.  251. 

Vol.  I.— Q 


362  APPENDIX  F. 

our  profession,"  or  "  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of  our  faith  witliout 
wavering;"  but  I  think  it  was  the  latter.  It  surpassed  all  I  had  pre- 
viously heard,  and  I  have  not  since  heard  any  thing  superior  to  it.  He 
preached  twice  the  same  day  at  Longton,  where  one  of  his  texts  was, 
"  Secret  things  belong  to  the  Lord,"  etc.     I  did  not  hear  him  there. 

I  first  heard  Mr.  Bradburn  at  the  opening  of  Durslcm  Chapel ;  the  oc- 
casion, as  I  have  since  been  given  to  understand,  of  the  accusation 
brought  against  him  by  Peter  Haslam.  His  voice  was  clear,  his  lan- 
guage perspicuous  and  coherent,  and,  with  the  exception  of  some  extrav- 
agant sayings,  his  whole  manner  was  self-possessed  in  a  high  degree. 

His  text  was,  "Is  the  Lord  among  us  or  not"?"  I  was  then  but  a 
schoolboy,  and  did  not  care  much  for  plans  of  sermons.  Indeed,  then  as 
now,  I  had  a  strong  dislike  of  preachers  who  are  ever  saying  "  in  the 
first  place  and  in  the  second  place,"  etc.  I  generally  found  that  the 
more  their  sermons  had  of  formal  and  arbitrary  method,  the  less  they 
had  of  natural  and  lucid  order.  But  I  remember  the  general  character 
of  that  discourse,  which,  excepting  some  impertinent  sallies,  was  suffi- 
ciently close  to  the  text. 

Before  the  sermon  an  anthem  was  performed.  The  Church-singers 
had  been  engaged  for  the  occasion.  Tlicrc  were  various  musical  instru- 
ments rather  indifferently  played.  It  is  said  that  a  performer  who  was 
present,  hoping  to  stimulate  Mr.  Bradburn  to  some  curious  and  caustic 
remark,  such  as  he  had  heard  of,  had  contrived  to  put  some  of  the  in- 
struments  out  of  tune.  The  singing  of  the  anthem,  which  comprised  a. 
bass  solo,  was  about  as  articulate  as  the  voices  of  the  flutes  and  fiddles. 
Mr.  Bradburn  stood  back  in  the  pulpit  during  the  performance,  and  when 
it  closed,  stepped  forward,  and,  looking  down  toward  the  singing  pew, 
said,  with  great  gravity,  "  1  suppose  the  Almighty  might  understand  it, 
but,  for  my  part,  I  did  not  understand  a  word  of  it." 

In  an  early  part  of  his  introduction  he  said,  "  Some  of  you  have  heard 
it  noised  abroad  that  Bradburn  is  going  to  preach,  and  perhaps  you  think 
you  do  me  a  great  favor  in  condescending  to  come  to  hear  me ;  on  the 
contrary,  I  think  I  do  you  a  very  great  favor  in  giving  you  the  opportu- 
nity of  hearing  me." 

in  applying  the  question  in  his  text  to  the  case  of  Methodism,  he  men- 
tioned, among  other  tilings,  the  high-principled  and  steadfast  loyalty  ol 
the  connection ;  and  said,  for  his  own  part,  though  he  was  by  birth  a 
Spaniard,  he  not  the  less  held  true  allegiance  to  the  king  and  constitu- 
tion of  Great  Britain.  His  Spanish  birth  is  explained  in  the  Minutes 
of  181G  by  the  statement  that  he  was  born  in  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar,  and 
that  his  parents  afterward  removed  to  Chester.  In  alluding  to  our  doc- 
trines as  one  of  the  cunuilativc  proofs  that  tlie  Lord  was  among  us,  and 
mentioning,  with  others,  the  fall  of  man,  he  said,  "Adam  saw  Eve  was 
fallen,  and  he  was  resolved  to  fall  with  her  ;  and  who  would  not,  that 
loved  a  good  wife?"     He  forgot  that  just  then  she  was  a  bad  wife  ;  but 


APPENDIX   F.  363 

perhaps  he  was  of  Dr.  Clarke's  mind,  that  a  bad  wife  is  better  than  none. 
Either  way,  he  would  not  spare  his  jest,  though  profane  and  unseemly. 
When  he  came  to  speak  of  the  collection,  alluding  to  covetous  and  nig- 
gardly people,  who  give  little  in  proportion  to  their  means,  and  that  little 
grudgingly,  and  adverting  also  to  certain  philosophical  notions  concerning 
the  infinite  divisibility  of  matter,  he  said,"  A  thousand  such  souls  might 
be  made  to  dance  upon  the  point  of  a  needle  without  jostling  each  other 
for  want  of  room." 

Some  weeks  afterward  it  was  rumored  that  he  would  preach  on  a  week 
evening.  I  have  since  been  informed  that  it  was  in  consequence  of  Mr. 
Haslam's  notice  of  charges  ;  that  he  suddenly  came  over  to  see  whether 
Mr.  Haslam  could  be  induced  to  desist  from  pressing  his  accusation. 
The  congregation  was  thin,  in  consequence  of  the  shortness  of  the  notice. 
I  do  not  remember  the  text,  nor  any  entire  sentences  of  the  sermon  ;  but 
in  this  second  instance  I  was  exceedingly  impressed  with  the  majesty, 
fluency,  flexibility,  and  variety  of  his  delivery.  The  style,  also,  was  easy 
and  masterly.  But  that  which  left  the  most  deep  and  permanent  impres- 
sion was  the  exquisite  purity  and  beauty  of  his  pronunciation  ;  words, 
tones,  cadences,  all  were  at  once  manly  and  melodious.  The  phrase, 
"  His  co-eternal  Son,"  occurred  several  times,  and  I  have  never  since 
heard  those  words,  or  any  others,  pronounced  with  such  majestic  sweet- 
ness. 

Some  years  afterward,  Dr.  Townley  told  me  that  those  who  knew  Mr. 
Bradburn  at  his  best,  before  a  severe  attack  of  fever  which  he  had  at 
Manchester,  never  expected  to  see  his  equal  in  the  fine  combination  of 
oratorical  powers,  and  that,  after  that  fever,  he  was  never  quite  himself, 
either  in  the  pulpit  or  out  of  it ;  that  his  best  efforts  afterward  were  occa- 
sionally lighted  up  with  some  flashes  of  his  former  splendor,  but  that,  with 
these  exceptions, he  was  but  the  shadow  of  his  previous  greatness;  that 
the  fever  had  left  traces  in  his  brain  which  unsettled  the  balance  of  his 
mind,  and  rendered  him  incapable  of  those  sustained  and  consistent  exer- 
tions of  mental  power  which,  in  his  best  days,  held  his  hearers,  of  what- 
ever class,  in  a  prolonged  state  of  delight  and  astonishment. 

I  am  afraid  that,  when  he  was  degraded,  a  harsh  thing  was  done,  and 
that  he  received  hard  measure.  No  doubt  things  were  stated  to  the  Con- 
ference which,  as  dry  matters  of  fact,  could  not  be  gainsaid,  and  which 
filled  wise  and  good  men  with  grief  and  shame,  and  rendered  the  senti- 
ment paramount  that  the  morality  of  the  body  must  be  vindicated  from 
the  scandal.  Perhaps  the  point  of  view  indicated  to  me  by  Dr.  Townley 
was  not  taken,  and  therefore  the  explanatory  and  mitigating  considera- 
tions it  would  have  presented  were  not  entertained.  He  could  not  ex- 
plain for  himself  on  that  principle,  and,  had  any  one  attempted  to  plead 
for  him  on  such  a  ground,'  he  would  probably  have  repudiated  the  plea 
with  scorn  and  indignation.  I  suppose  it  did  not  occur  to  his  judges  to 
pass  from  the  moral  to  the  mental  symptoms,  and  to  inquire  whether  there 


864  APPENDIX  F. 

were  not  indications  of  partial,  yet  permanent  aberration,  occasioned  by 
the  long-continued  delirium  he  had  suffered  a  short  time  previously  at 
Manchester.  One  of  the  symptoms  of  partial  insanity  which  I  have  ob- 
served, as  well  as  heard  of,  in  certain  cases,  is  a  disregard  of  common 
propriety,  such  as  many  of  Mr.  Bradburn's  strange  sayings  in  the  pulpit 
implied.'  Stopping  short  of  a  definite  opinion  where  there  are  grounds 
of  doubt,  I  yet  do  doubt  whether,  if  the  signs  of  mental  disturbance  in  his 
case  had  been  a  little  stronger,  or  whether,  if  the  case  had  been  contem- 
plated with  the  same  intelligent  charity  which,  in  our  time,  has  dealt  so 
considerately  and  tenderly  with  similar  instances,  there  would  not  have 
been  a  somewhat  milder  act  of  still  needful  discipline.  The  men  of  that 
day  did  their  best,  according  to  the  evidence  before  them. 

Mr.  Naylor*  being  the  oldest  preacher  now  traveling,  and  having  only 
commenced  his  itinerancy  about  or  after  that  time,  I  infer  that  there  is 
no  one  left  who  was  present  at  that  Conference,^  and  any  account  which 
can  now  be  obtained  must  be  from  hearsay.  At  present  there  is  a  con- 
siderable number  of  racy  anecdotes  of  Mr.  Bradburn  afloat  in  a  tradition- 
al form,  which  in  another  generation  will  cither  have  passed  from  even 
secondary  remembrance,  or  will  have  retamed  currency  in  a  mutilated 
state. 

I  have  been  told  that,  a  young  man  having  asked  his  advice  about  preach- 
ing, he  gave  it  in  one  short  sentence — "  Stick  to  your  text,  though  it  should 
be  as  dry  as  a  stick."  Some  have  thought  this  a  very  queer  direction. 
It  was  a  dark  saying,  pithy  and  startling  in  expression,  and  demanding 
consideration.  He  would  be  a  foolish  preacher  who  would  choose  a  text 
so  dry.  But  I  apprehend  the  meaning  intended  to  be  suggested  was, 
that,  the  text  being  chosen,  the  sermon  throughout  should  be  closely  con- 
nected with  it,  and  nothing  irrelevant  be  allowed.  With  the  exception 
of  his  proncness  to  unseasonable  sallies  of  wit,  his  own  practice  seems  to 
have  been  according  to  his  precept;  while  the  plans  and  illustrations  of 
his  sermons  had  the  marks  of  genius  in  being  natural,  but  not  obvious.  I 
consider  his  fast-day  sermon  on  Equality  an  extraordinary  instance  of 
artistic  skill :  the  plan  being  at  once  natural,  surprising,  and  exhaustive  ; 
enabling  him,  without  wandering  from  his  text,  to  state  and  enforce  the 
chief  parts  of  scriptural  and  evangelical  truth,  aud,  at  the  same  time,  an- 
swering the  purpose  of  an  indirect  and  dexterous  clearing  of  himself  from 
the  suspicion  of  holding  French  notions  of  equality,  to  which  his  early 
admiration  of  the  Revolution  of  1789  had  seemed  to  make  him  liable. 

An  instance  of  injudicious  management  of  the  voice  on  the  part  of  a 
young  man  at  a  district  meeting  led  him  to  say,  "  Speak  with  your  mouth, 

•  Whose  namn  can  never  Ije  mentioned  but  with  the  liitiliet't  honor  as  the  only  purviving 
founder  of  the  We.-leyan  MieBionai-y  Society,  and  as  Imving  "borne  the  burden  and  beat" 
of  an  active  itinerancy  for  nearly  fifty-seven  years.  5Iy  father  was  wont  to  speak  of  the 
exalted  estimate  he  had  fonncd  of  Mr.  Naylor's  incorruptible  integrity  and  uprightness  of 
character. 

t  The  Conference  of  1802.     See  p.  73. 


APPENDIX   F.  865 

man,"  and  to  give  a  humorous  caricature  of  the  manner  which  he  called 
speaking  from  the  stomach,  but  which  is  also  speaking  from  the  throat, 
the  words  being  sent  forth  with  a  strong  guttural  effort,  the  chest  being 
drawn  in  to  expel  the  last  portion  of  breath  before  the  next  inspiration ; 
the  whole  process  interfering  with  distinctness  and  ease  of  utterance,  as 
well  as  being  injurious  to  the  throat  in  particular,  pernicious  to  the  gen- 
eral health  of  the  speaker,  and  most  disagreeable  to  the  hearers.  Many 
of  the  cases  of  loss  of  voice,  or  "  Clergyman's  throat,"  would  probably 
have  been  avoided  if  the  i)ersons  concerned  had  been  early  attentive  to  his 
precept,  "  Speak  with  your  mouth,  man." 

I  have  heard  of  one  of  his  delirious  speeches  at  Manchester,  addressed 
to  John  Grant,  who  was  sitting  up  with  him  during  a  part  of  his  danger- 
ous illness,  and  with  difficulty  restraining  his  feverish  violence  ;  but  it  was 
too  wild  and  furious  to  be  recorded,  though  so  intensely  and  characteris- 
tically energetic  and  vivid  that,  once  heard,  it  can  not  be  forgotten. 

Since  writing  the  above,  it  has  come  to  my  remembrance  that  he  is 
said  to  have  once  stated  in  substance,  in  his  introduction  to  a  morning  ser- 
mon at  Leeds,  that  he  had  carefully  studied  the  subject  three  times  over  : 
First,  he  had  been  filling  his  mind  with  whatever  seemed  to  be  belonging 
or  related  to  the  subject,  or  what,  without  impropriety  or  irrelevancy, 
might  he  said;  next,  on  account  of  the  limits  of  the  time,  and  of  the 
hearers'  patience  and  power  of  attention,  he  had  been  considering,  as  to 
the  various  topics  and  remarks  which  his  text  naturally  suggested,  lohat 
need  not  be  said ;  and  he  had  then  been  considering  how  he  might  best 
place  before  them  what  was  so  appropriate  to  the  subject,  so  important 
and  essential  that  it  ought  to  be  said.  What  a  transformation  would 
be  effected  in  many  long  discourses  if  preachers  would  pass  the  sub- 
stance of  their  sermons  through  this  highly  rational  and  judicious  proc- 
ess! 

It  has  been  said  that  he  professed  to  classify  preachers  according  to  a 
graduated  scale  of  five  degrees,  nearly  thus:  1,  excellent  or  admirable; 
2,  able  or  acceptable ;  3,  respectable  ;  4,  tolerable ;  and,  5,  unbearable. 
The  mere  enumeration  of  such  classes  should  stimulate  all  who  do  not 
despair  of  self-improvement  to  do  all  that  is  possible  to  obtain,  on  Brad- 
burn's  scale,  a  good  degree. 

My  idea  of  him,  as  to  his  powers,  has  long  been  that,  apart  from  his  ec- 
centricities and  weaknesses,  which  I  ascribe  in  a  great  measure  to  infirm- 
ity, he  was  not  a  mere  orator,  but  a  man  of  fine  and  powerful  genius,  who 
had  rich  and  noble  faculties,  and  had  been  diligent  and  successful  in  self- 
cultivation.  The  Rev.  John  Reynolds,  sen.,  informed  me  that,  when  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  writing  his  Checks,  Mr.  Wesley  sent  Mr.  Bradburn,  then  a 
young  man,  to  assist  him  in  his  village  services ;  and  that  Mr.  Fletcher 
frequently  heard  him  preach,  and  gave  him  the  valuable  advantage  of  his 
kind  criticism  and  counsel.  His  own  bold,  easy,  and  correct  English  was 
such  as  no  man  acquires  without  perseverence  in  a  right  course  of  means. 


366  APPENDIX   G. 

His  diligence  may  be  inferred  from  one  of  his  reported  sayings  on  leav- 
ing jNIanchcstcr — that  he  had  twelve  hundred  outlines  of  sermons  un- 
touehed  (not  used  in  preaching  in  that  circuit)  at  the  end  of  three  years' 
ministrations. 

The  result  of  such  endowments,  improved  with  such  assiduity  amid  all 
the  hinderances  and  discouragements  of  a  laborious  and  harassing  voca- 
tion, was,  that  to  be  comprehensive  and  lucid  in  arrangement ;  beautifully 
clear  in  statement  or  exposition ;  weighty,  nervous,  and  acute  in  argu- 
mentation ;  copious,  various,  and  interesting  in  illustration  ;  overwhelming 
in  pathos — to  wield  at  will  the  ludicrous  or  the  tender,  the  animating,  the 
sublime,  or  the  terrible,  seem  to  have  been  habitually  in  his  power.  Too 
often  he  was  minded  to  indulge  in  the  ludicrous  and  the  sarcastic,  for 
which  his  own  indirect  apology  was,  that  tiie  more  wit  a  man  might  pos- 
sess, the  more  judgment  would  he  need  to  control  and  direct  it. 


G,  page  83. 

Minutes  of  a  District  ]\tccting  held  at  Manchester  on  Wednesday  and 
Thursday,  the  30th  of  November  and  the  \st  of  December,  1796. 

Present — Alexander  Mather,  Thomas  Taylor,  John  Allen,  Benjamin 
Rhodes,  Jeremiah  Brettell,  Thomas  Rutherford,  Henry  Moore,  John 
Booth,  Timothy  Crowther,  John  Gaulter,  James  M'Donald,  Thomas 
Wood,  David  Barrowclough,  Robert  Miller,  John  Denton,  George  Sykes, 
Thomas  Fearnley,  George  Morley,  George  INIarsdcn,  Joseph  Collier. 

After  solemn  prayer,  the  meeting  was  opened  by  Mr.  Moore,  who  gave 
a  pleasing  account  of  those  brethren  who  had  been  the  cause  of  some  un- 
easiness in  Liverpool  last  week  being  now  reconciled  to  their  brethren  by 
acknowledging  their  fault,  expressing  their  sorrow  for  it,  and  engaging  to 
act  in  union  with  their  brethren  for  the  time  to  come. 

It  was  then  desired  that  the  Salford  Address,  signed  John  Shore,  dated 
the  4th  day  of  October,  1796,  should  be  read.  This  being  done,  the  fol- 
lowing questions  were  asked : 

Q.  1.  Does  this  address  concern  only  the  society  at  Manchester,  and 
the  preachers  stationed  there  1 

A.  It  manifestly  concerns  the  whole  connection. 

Q.  2.  Is  it  proper  that  Mr.  Mather  should  retain  his  office  as  Chair- 
man? 

A.  Undoubtedly  it  is,  as  he  was  appointed  to  it  by  the  Conference, 
and  is  not  personally  concerned  in  the  business  upon  which  we  are  as- 
sembled. 

Q.  3.  Who  is  appointed  secretary  1 

A.  Thomas  Taylor. 

Q.  4.  Shall  the  above  address  be  again  read  and  considered,  paragraph 
by  paragraph  ? 


APPENDIX  G.  367 

A.  By  all  means.  This  was  accordingly  done ;  and  we  were  unan- 
imous in  our  judgment  that  this  address  is  calculated, 

1.  To  deceive  and  mislead  all  those  into  whose  hands  it  may  come. 

II.  To  make  the  minds  of  the  people  evil-affected  toward  the  preach- 
ers by  false  and  unjust  representations  of  them  and  their  conduct. 

III.  That  its  authors  and  supporters  have  virtually  renounced  all  con- 
nection with  the  Conference  by  rejecting  its  rules,  and,  of  consequence, 
all  connection  with  those  who  desire  to  submit  to  them. 

Any  who  may  desire  to  see  these  points  fully  proved,  we  refer  to  the 
Protest  published  against  the  said  address  by  the  trustees,  local  preach- 
ers, leaders,  and  stewards  of  the  Manchester  society,  dated  October  4th, 
1796.  That  Protest  was  also  read  in  the  same  manner,  and  approved  of 
unanimously,  and  it  is  recommended  to  the  brethren  to  let  it  have  a  full 
circulation  in  the  societies. 

Q.  5.  What  answer  can  be  given  to  the  three  questions  proposed  by 
our  brethren  who  have  signed  the  Protest? 

A.  1.  We  are  unanimous  as  to  the  justness  of  our  rules  as  contained 
in  the  Minutes  of  the  Conference  and  in  the  Rules  of  the  societies,  and 
we  believe  them  not  only  designed,  but  well  adapted  to  promote  the  wel- 
fare and  preserve  the  peace  of  the  whole  connection. 

2.  We  ar^of  one  mind  as  to  the  power  vested  in  the  Conference,  and 
we  approve  of  the  account  given  of  that  power  in  the  Manchester  Pro- 
test, viz.. 

The  power  of  the  Conference  is  neither  "  usurped"  nor  wholly  "  del- 
egated" by  men,  but  is  first  given  to  them  by  God,  in  common  with  all 
who  are  called  by  Him  to  the  work  of  the  ministry:  Acts,  xx.,  28; 
1  Thess.,  v.,  12,  13  ;  1  Tim.,  v.,  17,  19  ;  Ileb.,  xiii.,  7,  17  ;  1  Pe^er,  v., 
1-5.  Secondly,  it  is  a  power  inherent  in  themselves,  as  ministers  who 
have  first  formed  themselves  into  a  body,  and  made  such  rules  as  they 
judged  proper,  first  for  the  government  and  direction  of  that  body,  and, 
secondly,  for  those  who  might  desire  to  unite  with  them.  This  must 
consequently  imply  a  power  of  judging  with  whom  they  will  (or  will  not) 
hold  this  fellowship,  viz.,  such  as  agree  to  be  subject  to  these  rules,  and 
so  long  as  they  are  subject  to  them.  There  is  also  a  power  delegated 
by  the  Deeds  of  the  Chapels  to  those  preachers  who  assemble  in  Con- 
ference, to  appoint,  from  year  to  year,  who  shall  therein  preach  and  ex- 
pound God's  holy  word ;  and,  in  some  deeds,  to  perform  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God  as  the  same  has  been  usual  among  the  Methodists.  Yet 
these  powers,  so  possessed  or  delegated,  except  in  the  first  instance,  have 
been,  by  mutual  consent  of  preachers  and  people,  restricted — first,  by  the 
Deeds  of  the  Chapels  ;  secondly,  by  the  Minutes  of  the  Conference  ;  and, 
thirdly,  by  the  Pacific  Plan  of  1795.  This  proves  that  the  preachers 
are  not "  usurpers"  nor  "  despots,"  as  also  that  they  have,  since  the  death 
of  Mr.  Wesley,  made  many  rules  in  favor  of  the  people  ;  and  that  they 
do  not  consider  themselves  exactly  in  his  place,  as  all  who  knew  him  are 


368  APPENDIX  H. 

fully  aware  he  would  not  have  submitted  to  the  above  agreements  or 
rules,  even  for  the  preachers,  after  his  death. 
As  to  the  third  question, 

1.  We  must  observe,  as  before,  that  those  bretlircn  who  renounce  the 
Conference  rules  by  that  act  virtually  separate  themselves  from  it. 

2.  That  our  Society  Rules  require  that  the  members  shall  not  speak 
evil  of  ministers,  and  that  they  shall  not  rail  at  or  revile  any  man  ;  and 
by  those  rules  all  who  thus  offend  are,  after  due  admonition  and  forbear- 
anee,  ordered  to  be  excluded.  In  this  also  we  are  unanimous,  that  those 
brethren  who  signed  that  address,  as  mentioned  above,  are  guilty  in  all 
these  respects,  and  in  a  higli  degree ;  that  they  are  excluded  by  these 
rules  ;  and  tliat,  as  they  have  been  admonished,  and  borne  with  for  some 
time,  they  ought,  agreeable  to  many  passages  of  Scripture,  to  be  put  away 
from  us.  We  shall  only  quote  the  following:  Rom.,xvi.,  17  :  We  be- 
seech you,  brethren,  mark  those  that  cause  divisions  and  offenses  con- 
trary to  the  doctrine  which  ye  have  learned,  and  aiwid  them.  Titus, 
iii.,  10  :  A  man  that  is  a  heretic,  that  is,  who  is  a  party  maker  (see  Mr. 
Wesley's  notes  on  the  passage),  after  the  first  and  second  admonition, 
reject.  1  Cor.,  v.,  11  :  If  any  tnan  tcho  is  called  a  brother  be — a  rail- 
cr,  with  such  a  one,  no,  not  to  cat.  This  we  know  your  superintendent, 
in  conjunction  with  the  leaders,  might  have  done ;  but  as  you  desired 
our  advice  before  you  thus  proceeded,  we  advise  you  to  use  the  same 
tenderness  and  forbearance  a  little  longer.  If  this  do  not  engage  t!iose 
brethren  to  return,  you  have  no  alternative  but  to  refuse  them  tickets  at 
the  next  visitation.  Yet  we  propose  to  meet  the  leaders  before  we  de- 
part, that  we  may  admonish  those  brethren  in  their  presence,  1.  That  if 
they  be  thus  removed,  they  arc  themselves  the  sole  cause  of  that  removal. 
2.  That  they  have  now  a  fair  opportunity  of  continuing  with  their  breth- 
ren on  the  following  easy  terras,  viz..  That  they  lay  all  these  causes  of 
dissension  entirely  aside,  and,  as  they  have  done  befoye,  to  act  in  union 
with  their  brethren.  This  we  entreat  them  to  do  for  the  Lord's  sake, 
for  the  good  of  their  own  souls,  and  for  the  comfort,  harmony,  and  pros- 
perity of  the  whole  connection. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  Meeting, 

A.  Mather,  T.  Taylor. 


H,page  128. 
A  few  plain  and  free  Thoughts,  by  the  late  Reverend  Robert  Lomas. 

I  judge  that  when  the  apostle,  in  the  8th  of  Romans,  speaks  of  a  car- 
nal and  a  spiritual  mind,  he  speaks  o^ prevailing  and  general  dispositions, 
and  not  of  occasional  and  transient  emotions  of  mind. 

I  tliink  he  opposes  the  carnal  to  the  spiritual  mind,  and  the  spiritual  to 
the  carnal  mind,  and  supposes  that  they  exclude  each  other  ;  so  that, 


APPENDIX  H.  369 

when  the  one  exists,  the  other  does  not  exist.  It  appears  to  me  that,  by- 
being  carnally  minded,  and  being  in  the  flesh,  and  minding  the  things  of 
the  flesh,  and  being  -after  the  flesh,  he  meant  exactly  one  and  the  same 
thing. 

It  seems  also,  by  what  he  says,  that  the  persons  who  were  in  the  state 
described  by  those  phrases  were  dead,  and  could  not  please  God.  Ac- 
cording to  my  judgment,  he  supposes  and  asserts  that  a  believer  in  Christ 
is  not  in  such  a  state,  but  is  translated  out  of  it,  into  one  wholly  different ; 
for  he  says  of  them, "  But  ye  are"  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so 
be,"  etc. 

From  this  view  of  the  chapter,  I  infer  that  a  child  of  God  is  not  car- 
nally, but  spiritually  minded  ;  that  he  is  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  spirit ; 
that  he  is  not  dead,  but  alive ;  that  he  is  not  at  enmity  with  God,  but 
pleases  God,  and  is  accepted  of  Him ;  and  that  he  is  not  in  a  state  of  con- 
demnation, but  in  a  state  of  peace,  and  has  peace  in  himself.  But  all 
these  propositions,  you  will  remember,  are  used  with  reference  to  what 
is  prevailing  and  general  in  a  child  of  God. 

Some  use  the  expression,  the  remains  of  the  carnal  mind  in  a  believer ; 
think  it  is  quite  scriptural ;  and  are  surprised  that  any  question  should  be 
made  concerning  it. 

I  am  a  plain  man,  and  my  thoughts  are  free.  On  this  subject  I  have 
to  say  that  if,  by  that  expression,  it  be  meant  that  a  believer  has  any  re- 
mains of  that  carnal  mind  which  is  enmity  against  God,  and  that  this  is 
in  him  at  all  times  until  he  be  wholly  sanctified,  I  feel  some  objection  to 
it,  for  I  do  not  believe  it  in  that  sense.  But  if  it  be  meant  only  that  a 
weak  believer,  not  living  in  the  exercise  of  his  faith,  may  be  occasionally 
too  much  under  the  power  of  carnal  things,  so  as  to  be  properly  called 
carnal  for  the  time,  as  the  apostle  called  the  Corinthians  on  account  of 
their  party  matters,  etc.,  I  have  not  the  smallest  objection  to  it :  a  weak 
believer,  a  child,  an  infant  in  grace,  may  be  in  such  a  state,  and  be  a  weak 
believer  still. 

Yet  more  :  if  persons  who  use  that  phrase  (and,  by  the  way,  I  do  not 
know  that  I  shall  ever  use  it  in  any  sense,  for  I  suppose  it  convey^s  a  cer- 
tain true  iclea  to  many  of  our  hearers)  mean  only  that  believers  who  are 
not  matured  in  grace  have  in  themselves  at  all  times,  and  occasionally  feel, 
a  certain  proneness  or  propensity  toward  that  evil  which  prevailed  over 
them  when  they  were  dead  to  God  and  far  from  Him,  which  proneness 
or  propensity  is  the  effect  of  a  course  of  inward  and  outward  sinful  acts, 
and  from  which  proneness  or  propensity  they  may  be  freed  by  the  grace 
of  God,  and  by  the  exercise  of  that  grace  in  the  way  of  godliness,  I 
heartily  subscribe  to  their  meaning,  for  I  am  fully  persuaded  of  the  truth 
of  this  thing. 

But  probably  some  tenacious  persons,  fearing  lest  I  should  conceal 
some  heterodox  notions  under  the  cover  of  the  word  proneness  or  pro- 
pensity, would  urge  me  farther,  and  ask, "  Do  you  think  the  child  of  God 

Q2 


870  APPENDIX   I. 

^vho  has  that  propensity,  and  occasionally  feels  it,  can  go  to  heaven  in 
his  present  state  1  Must  he  not  experience  another  essential  change  in 
himself?  Must  he  not  be  brought  into  a  state  of  entire  sanctification  be- 
fore he  can  see  God  ?  Can  any  man  see  the  Lord  without  holiness  V 
etc.  And,  as  I  do  not  wish  to  retain  any  thing  erroneous,  especially  in 
matters  of  experience,  I  might  be  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  bringing  my 
sentiments  to  a  farther  test  by  replying  to  the  above  as  follows  :  1.  I 
am  persuaded  that  no  unholy  thing  can  have  place  in  heaven.  I  be- 
lieve that  there  must  be  in  us  an  entire'conformity  to  God,  in  order  that 
we  may  dwell  with  Him  ;  for  I  find  it  is  impossible  to  walk  with  Him 
on  earth  unless  we  be  agreed  with  Him. 

But,  2.  I  do  not  conceive  that  the  proneness  or  propensity  of  which  I 
spoke  has  in  it  the  riaturc  of  unholiness  or  sin ;  for  it  has  not  any  nec- 
essary concurrence  of  the  mind  or  icill  of  the  believer  at  a?2?/  time,  and, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  he  may  be  saved  from  its  poioer  at  all  times. 

Therefore,  3.  I  do  not  see  the  necessity  of  another  essential  change, 
or  change  of  nature,  in  the  believer  ;  I  can  not  see  how  it  can  be  neces- 
sary for  him  to  pass  into  another  state  in  order  that  he  may  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

In  my  judgment,  there  are  only  two  states,  strictly  speaking,  in  which 
a  man  can  be  while  in  this  world — a  state  of  carnality  and  a  state  of 
spirituality,  or  a  state  of  life  and  a  state  of  death,  or  a  state  of  condem- 
nation and  a  state  of  justification  ;  in  other  words,  the  state  of  a  believer 
who  is  translated  out  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness  into  the  kingdom  of 
God's  dear  Son,  and  the  state  of  a  sinner  who  abides  in  that  darkness. 

In  my  opinion,  believers  noio  have  eternal  life,  and  are  now,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  children  of  God,  and  possessed  of  a  new  and  Divine  na- 
ture, made  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 
Unless  this  be  granted,  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  to  avoid  the  error 
of  those  who  say  that, "  if  a  justified  person  were  to  die  before  he  were 
wholly  sanctified,  he  would  go  to  hell  and  be  damned." 


I,  page  139. 

List  of  the  Texts  of  Dr.  Bunting^s  Discourses  prepared  before  he 
left  Macclesfield,  placed  in  the  Order  of  Preparation. 

I.  John,  xiv.,  1  :  Ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  Me. 

II.  Num.,  xxiii.,  10  :  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  etc. 

III.  Luke,  ii.,  10,  11  :  Fear  not ;  for,  behold,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings, 

etc. 

IV.  Luke,  ii.,  14  :  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  etc. 

V.  Isa.,  Iv.,  6  :  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  He  may  be  found,  etc. 
Al.,  LIX.  Titus,  ii.,  11-13  :  The  grace  of  God  which  bringeth,  etc. 
VII.  Luke,  xii.,  32  :  Fear  not,  little  flock,  etc. 


APPENDIX   I.  371 

VIII.  Matt.,  xi.,  28  :  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye,  etc. 

IX.  Rom.,  vi.,  17  :  God  be  thanked  that  ye,  etc. 

X.  Num.,  X.,  29  :  We  are  journeying,  etc. 

XI.  1  Tim.,  iii.,  16  :  Great  is  the  mystery,  etc. 

XII.  Luke,  xxiv.,  34  :  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed. 

XIII.  Phil.,iv.,  19  :  My  God  shall  supply,  etc. 

XIV.,  LVIII.    Jude  20,  21  :   But  ye,  beloved,  building  up  yourselves, 
etc. 

XV.  Mark,  xvi.,  15  :  Go  into  all  the  world,  etc. 

XVI.  Gen.,  vii.,  1  :   Com^thou,  etc.,  into  the  ark. 

XVII.  Luke,  XV.,  2  :  This  Man  receiveth  sinners. 

XVIII.  Matt.,  xxiv.,  44  :  Be  ye  also  ready,  etc. 

XIX.  Prov.,  iv.,  7  :  Wisdom  is  the  principal  thing. 

XX.  Psalm  Ivii.,  1  :  Be  merciful  unto  me,  O  God,  etc. 

XXI.  1  Thess.,  v.,  25  :  Brethren,  pray  for  us. 

XXII.  2  Kings,  xviii.,  5-7  :  Hezekiah's  character. 

XXIII.  Job,  xxii.,21  :  Acquaint  now  thyself,  etc. 

XXIV.  Rom.jxiii.,  11  :  Now  is  our  salvation,  etc, 
XXV.,  XXVI.  Matt.,  xvi.,  6  :  Pharisees  and  Sadducees. 

XXVII.  Job,  ii.,  10  :  Shall  we  receive  good,  etc. 

XXVIII.  Heb.,  ii.,  13  :  How  shall  we  escape,  etc. 

XXIX.  Gal.,  vi.,  9  :  Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing. 

XXX.  Heb.,  iv.,  14  :  Seeing  that  we  have,  etc. 

XXXI.  Luke,  xxii.,  32  :  When  thou  art  converted,  strengthen,  etc. 

XXXII.  Psalm  xxxiv.,  19  :  Many  are  the  afflictions,  etc. 

XXXIII.  Jonah,  ii.,  9  :  Salvation  is  of  the  Lord  :  with  a  paraphrase  of 
chapters  i.  and  ii.     Two  parts. 

XXXIV.  1  Peter,  iv.,  18:  If  the  righteous,  etc. 

XXXV.  Rev.,  iii.,  20  :  Behold,  I  stand,  etc. 

XXXVI.  Eccles.jviii.,  12  :  Surely  I  know,  etc. 

XXXVII.  Matt.,v.,25,  26  :  Agree  with  thine  adversary,  etc. 

XXXVIII.  Isa.,lxvi.,  14  :  The  hand  of  the  Lord,  etc. 

XXXIX.  Luke,  xiii.,  6-9  :  The  barren  fig-tree. 
XL.  James,  v.,  8  :  Be  ye  also  patient,  etc. 

XLI.  Acts,  xi.,  26  :  The  disciples  were  called  Christians. 

XLII.  Rom.,viii.,  16  :  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness,  etc. 

XLIII.,  XLIV.  Psalm  1.,  14,  15  :  Offer  unto  God  thanksgiving,  etc. 

XLV.   lTim.,iv.,8:  Godliness  is  profitable,  etc. 

XLVI.   Matt.,  XX.,  I,  et  seq.:  Parable  of  the  laborers. 

XLVII.  Luke,  xvii.,32  :  Remember  Lot's  wife. 

XLVIII.,XLIX.  Phil.,iii.,20,  21  :  Our  conversation,  etc. 

L.   1  Peter,  iii.,  15  :  Be  ready  always  to  give  an  -answer,  etc. 

LI.  Ezek.,  ix.,  4  :  .Go  through  the  city,  etc.,  and  set  a  mark  on  the  men 

that  sigh,  etc. 
LII.  1  Peter,  v.,  10  :  But  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath  called,  etc. 


372  APPENDIX   I. 

LIII.  Prov.,  xxiv.,  10  :  If  thou  faint  in  the  day  of  adversity,  etc. 

LIV.   1  Peter,  iii.,  18  :  Christ  once  suffered,  etc. 

LV.,  LVL,  LVII.  Luke,  XV.,  11-24  :  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

LVIII.  Jude,  20,  21  :  But  ye,  beloved,  etc. 

LIX.  Titus,  ii.,  11-13  :  The  grace  of  God,  etc.    . 

LX.   Epii.,  iv.,  30  :  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  etc. 

LXI.  Zech.,  iii.,  6, 7  :  If  thou  wilt  walk  in  my  ways,  etc. 

LXII.  1  John,  i.,  9  :  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful,  etc. 

LXIII.,LXIV.  Eccles.,xii.,  1  :  Remember  now  thy  Creator,  etc. 

LXV.  Heb.,  iv.,  16  :  Let  us  come  boldly,  eta 

LXVI.  John,  i.,  41,  42  :  The  calling  of  Peter. 

LXVII.  Psalm  i. 

LXVIII.   1  Sam.,  xii.,  23  :  Moreover,  as  for  me,  God  forbid,  etc. 

LXIX.  Rom.,i.,  16  :  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel,  etc. 

LXX.  Heb.,  vi.,  12  :  Be  not  slothful,  but  followers  of  them,  etc. 

LXXI.  John,  iii.,  16  :  God  so  loved  the  world,  etc.  (Altered  from  Bur- 
der.) 

LXXII.  Heb.,  ii.,  11  :  Both  He  that  sanctifieth,  and  they  that  are  sanc- 
tified. 

LXXIII.  Heb.,  ii.,  10  :  For  it  became  Him  for  whom  are  all  things,  etc. 

LXXIV.,  LXXV.  James,  i.,  21  :  Wherefore  lay  apart,  etc. 

LXXVL,  LXXVII.  Psalm  x.,  13  :  Wherefore  doth  the  wicked  contemn 
God,  etc. 

LXXVIII.  2  Kings,  v.,  19  :  Naaman's  cure  and  conversion. 

LXXIX.,  LXXX.  Heb.,  xii.,  1  :  Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are  com- 
passed, etc. 

LXXXI.  Rom.,  viii.,  2  :  The  law  of  the  spirit  of  life,  in  Christ  Jesus, 
etc. 

LXXXIL,  LXXXIII.  Zeph.,  ii.,  3  :  Seek  ye  the  Lord,  all  ye  meek,  etc. 

LXXXIV.  Luke,  ii.,  15  :  Let  us  go  now  even  unto  Bethlehem,  etc. 

LXXXV.,  LXXXVI.  Col.,  iii.,  11  :  Christ  is  all. 

LXXXVII.,  LXXXVIII.  Psalm  xciv.,  19  :  In  the  multitude  of  my 
thoughts,  etc. 

LXXXIX.   1  John,  v.,  3  :  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep,  etc 

XC,  XCI.,  XCII.  Heb.,  xi.,  26  :  Esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ, 
etc. 

XCIII.   1  Cor.,  XV.,  10  :  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  what  I  am. 

XCIV.  1  Thess.,v.,  17,  18  :  Pray  without  ceasing,  in  every  thing  give 
thanks. 

XCV.  Heb.,  X.,  23:  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of  our  faith,  etc. 

XCVI.  Rom.,  viii.,  32  :  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  etc. 

XCVII.,  XCVIII.  Luke,  xxiii.,  42,  43  :  The  dying  thief. 

XCIX.  Rom.,  vi.,  22  :  Being  now  made  free  from  sin,  etc. 

C.  2  Peter,  iii.,  14:  Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that  ye  look,  etc. 

CI.  Acts,  iii.,  22,  23  :  Christ  the  prophet  like  unto  Moses. 


APPENDIX  I.  373 

CII.  John,  X.,  11  :  I  am  the  good  Shepherd. 

cm.,  CIV.   1  Thess.,  v.,  19  :  Quench  not  the  Spirit. 

CV.  1  Cor.,  ix.,  26,  or  1  Tim.,  i.,  18  :  The  Christian  warfare. 

CVI.  Isai.,  xxviii.,  16  :  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation,  etc. 

CVII.  Titus,  ii.,  11-13,  Part  third  :  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  etc. 

CVIII.  Heb.,  X.,  35,  36  :  Cast  not  away  your  confidence,  etc. 

CIX.  Deut.,  viii.,  16  :  Who  fed  thee  in  the  wilderness  with  manna,  etc. 

ex.   1  John,  iii.,  2  :  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  etc. 

CXI.   1  Thess.,  v.,  20  :  Despise  not  prophesyings. 

CXII.  Heb.,  ii.,  1 :  Therefore  we  ought  to  give,  etc, 

CXIII.  Rom.,  XV.,  19:  From  Jerusalem  and  round  about,  etc. 

CXIV.  2  Sam.,  xxiv.,  13  :  Now  advise  and  see,  etc. 

CXV.  Job,  xvii.,  11  :  My  days  are  past,  my  purposes,  etc. 

CXVI.  1  John,  iii.,  14 :  We  know  that  we  have  passed,  etc.,  because 

we  love  the  brethren. 
CXVII.  Jer.,  viii.,  22  :  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead  ?  etc.     Why  then  is 

not  the  health  ?  etc. 
CXVIII.  Joshua,  xxiv.,  15  :  If  it  seem  evil  unto  you  to  serve  the  Lord, 

choose,  etc. 
CXIX.  Psalm  Ixxvii.,  3  :  I  remembered  God,  and  was  troubled. 
CXX.  John,  xvii.,  15  :  I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of 

the  world,  etc. 
CXXI.  Acts,  iii.,  26  :  Unto  you  first  God,  having  raised  up,  etc. 
CXXII.  Luke,  xxii.,  31  :  Behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you. 
CXXIII.   1  Cor.,  XV.,  29:  Else  what  shall  they  do  which  are  baptized 

for  the  dead. 
CXXIV.  Gal.,  vi.,  2  :  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfill,  etc. 
CXXV.,  CXXVI.  Jer.,  xiii.,  17  :  If  ye  will  not  hear  it,  my  soul  shall 

weep,  etc. 
CXXVII.  Jonah,  i.,  17 ;  ii.,  1-10. 
CXXVIII.  Acts,  xiii.,  38,  39  :   Be  it  known,  etc.,  that  through  this 

man,  etc. 
CXXIX.   Psalm  xvi.,  6  :    The  lines  are  fallen  unto  me   in  pleasant 

places,  etc. 
CXXX.  Acts,  ix.,  4  :  Why  persecutest  tliou  me? 
CXXXI.   1  Peter,  v.,  7 :  He  careth  for  you. 

CXXXII.  Luke,  xxii.,  31 :  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you.     Part  second. 
CXXXIII.  Psalm  xxvii.,  13,  14:  I  had  fainted  unless,  etc.     Wait  on 

the  Lord,  be  of  good  courage,  etc. 
CXXXIV.  2  Sam.,  xx.,  9  :  Art  thou  in  health,  my  brother? 
CXXXV.  Job,  xxxiii.,  19  :  He  is  chastened  also  with  pain. 
CXXXVI.  Deut.,  xxix.,  29  :  The  secret  things  belong,  etc. 
CXXXVII.  Neh.,  vi.,  3  :   I  am  doing  a  great  work. 
CXXXVIII.  Rom.,  viii.,  8  :  They  that  are  in  the  flesh  can  not  please 

God. 


374  APPENDIX  J. 

CXXXIX.,  CXL.  Mark,  vi.,  G  :  lie  marveled  because  of  their  unbelief. 

CXLI.  1  Sam.,  xxx.,  6  :  But  David  encouraged  himself  in  the  Lord  his 
God. 

CXLII.jCXLIII.  Prov.jiii.,  17:  Her  ways  arc  vvaysof  pleasantness,  etc. 

CXLIV.  Rom.,  viii.,  17  :  If  children,  then  heirs,  etc. 

CXLV.  Jonah,  i.,  ii.     Part  third. 

CXLVI.  Phil.,  i.,  6  :  Good  work  begun  and  perfected. 

CXLVII.  Heb.,  xii.,  1,  2  :  The  Christian  race.     Part  third. 

CXLVIII.  Isai.,  xliv.,  21 :  Israel  not  forgotten  of  God. 

CXLIX.  James,  iv.,  7:  Submission  to  God. 

CL.  Psalm  xx.,  5  :  In  the  name  of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners. 

CLI.  John,  viii.,  51  :  Verily,  I  say  unto  you.  If  a  man  keep  my  say- 
ing, etc. 

CLII.  Joshua,  xxiv.,  15,  last  clause :  As  for  me  and  my  house,  etc. 

CLIII.  Luke,  xii.,  31 :  But  rather  seek  ye  the  kingdom  of  God. 


J,  page  145. 

Notices  of  the  late  Mrs.  Bunting. 

The  late  Mrs.  Bunting,  whose  maiden  name  was  Maclardie,  was  born 
at  Macclesfield  on  the  26th  of  February,  1782.  Her  mother  was  re- 
moved from  her  by  death  when  she  was  only  eleven  months  old,  but,  in 
the  immediate  prospect  of  dissolution,  gave  strict  injunctions  as  to  the 
religious  education  of  her  infant  daughter,  and  specially  recommended 
her  to  the  friendly  and  pastoral  attentions  of  the  Rev.  David  Simpson, 
then  the  excellent  and  justly-eminent  minister  of  Christ  Church  in  Mac- 
clesfield, who  visited  Mrs.  Maclardie  during  her  last  affliction.  The 
charge  thus  solemnly  imposed  was  to  some  extent  fulfdled.  During  her 
childhood  and  youth  Miss  Maclardie  had  generally  the  high  privilege  of 
attending  the  public  ministry  of  Mr.  Simpson  in  the  church  just  men- 
tioned, and  cherished  to  the  latest  period  of  her  life  the  most  reverential 
and  delifjhtrul  reminiscences  of  a  worship  deojjly  devotional  in  its  forms, 
greatly  assisted,  as  to  its  decorum  and  impressive  solenmity,  by  the  rich 
musical  taste  and  judgment  of  her  father  (to  which  the  venerable  Mr. 
Wesley,  who  occasionally  ofTiciatcd  for  Mr.  Simpson,  has  borne  testi- 
mony in  one  of  his  published  Journals),  and,  above  all,  spiritualized  and 
made  religiously  effective  by  the  evangelical  piety  of  the  minister  and 
of  a  very  large  proportion  of  his  usual  congregation.  At  the  tirjie  re- 
ferred to,  Methodism  presented  in  the  town  of  Macclesfield  a  beautiful 
and,  even  then,  somewhat  uncommon  development  of  its  catholic  spirit 
and  character.  The  preachers  and  members  of  the  Weslcyan  Society 
generally  wore  constant  hearers  and  communicants  at  Chri.st  Church, 
especially  in  the  forenoon  of  the  Lord's  day  ;  while,  on  tiic  other  hand, 
Mr,  Simpson  himself,  and  a  considerable  number  of  those  members  of  his 


APPENDIX  J.  375 

congregation  who  were  considered  as  the  more  strict  and  regular  adher- 
ents of  the  Establishment,  were  in  the  habit  of  frequently  joining  the 
Sunday  evening  services  of  the  Wesleyan  congregation.  This  circum- 
stance, it  is  presumed,  gave  rise  to  Miss  Maclardie's  occasional  attend- 
ance, even  from  her  childhood,  at  the  Methodist  Chapel.  She,  however 
always  attributed  her  first  effectual  and  saving  impressions  of  religious 
truth  to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  public  and  private  ministrations  of 
Mr.  Simpson  himself.  She  also  derived  great  spiritual  advantage,  in 
consequence  of  her  being  placed,  when  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age, 
under  the  care  of  the  late  Rev.  Robert  Smith,  of  Leek,  a  truly  devoted 
minister  of  the  Independent  denomination.  In  his  family  she  beheld,  in 
himself  and  in  Mrs.  Smith,  an  edifying  example,  which  had  the  most 
happy  effect  on  her  youthful  mind,  and  to  which  she  often  referred  in 
subsequent  years  as  exhibiting  one  of  the  most  impressive  manifestations 
of  uniform  and  consistent  piety  which  she  had  ever  witnessed.  On  her 
return  from  Leek  to  her  native  town,  her  religious  views  and  feelings 
were  fixed  and  deepened  under  the  renewed  ministry  and  pastoral  atten- 
tions of  Mr.  Simpson.  Her  personal  experience  of  the  things  of  God 
became  clear  and  satisfactory.  After  painful  convictions  of  her  own  sin- 
fulness, and  guilt,  and  danger,  she  was  brought  to  the  exercise  of  faith  in 
the  sacrifice  and  atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  blessed  with  a 
comforting  sense  of  her  interest  in  God's  pardoning  mercy  and  paternal 
love.  The  minuter  circumstances  of  that  great  and  vital  change  in  her 
spiritual  relations,  and  state  of  heart  toward  God,  which  distinguished 
this  important  period  of  her  life,  can  not  here  be  detailed.  They  were 
very  distinct  in  their  character,  and  were  often  related  by  her  with  much 
feeling  to  her  children,  whose  recollection  of  them  is  not  only  sweet  and 
comforting  to  their  minds,  but  of  substantial  value  and  interest,  as  fur- 
nishing them  with  a  key  to  the  peculiar  cast  of  her  Christian  feelings  and 
habits.  One  striking  evidence  of  her  possession  of  the  grace  which 
bringeth  salvation  soon  appeared  in  the  benevolent  activity  and  zeal  with 
which,  under  the  guidance  and  auspices  of  some  experienced  friends, 
who  saw  the  superior  energy  of  her  character,  and  were  anxious  to  give 
to  it  a  beneficial  direction,  she  engaged  in  most  affectionate,  assiduous, 
and  self-denying  labors,  such  as  became  her  sex  and  station,  for  the  tem- 
poral relief  and  religious  welfare  of  others.  Her  impressions  of  the 
misery  and  danger  of  the  unconverted  were  exceedingly  deep  and  stir- 
ring, and  led  her  to  almost  daily  efforts  for  their  rescue,  either  by  visiting 
the  poor  and  sick,  by  reading  the  Scriptures,  with  accompanying  counsel 
and  with  prayer,  to  the  ignorant  and  neglected,  in  their  own  humble 
dwellings,  or  sometimes  in  the  adoption,  with  reference  to  persons  in  the 
higher  walks  of  life,  of  certain  indirect  methods  of  admonition  and  in- 
struction, which,  though  perfectly  private  and  unostentatipus,  might  pos- 
sibly result,  she  hoped,  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  parties  concerned. 
In  some  instances  at  least  belonging  to  the  former  class  of  persons,  there 


376  APPENDIX  J. 

was  reason  to  believe  that  these  pious  toils  were  instrumental,  in  the 
iianJs  of  God,  of  saving  benefit,  llcr  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  others  did 
not  so  absorb  her  as  to  make  her  overlook  the  primary  duty  of  using 
every  scriptural  means  for  the  confirmation  and  increase  of  her  own 
piety ;  for,  under  a  conviction  of  the  duty  and  privilege  of  a  close  and 
regular  Christian  communion,  she  now  formally  united  herself  to  the 
Methodist  Society,  being  about  twenty  years  of  age. 

In  January,  1804,  she  was  married  to  her  now  bereaved  and  mourning 
liusband,  and  from  that  time,  more  especially,  devoted  her  entire  feelings, 
and  energies,  and  talents  to  the  cause  of  Christ  among  the  Wesloyan 
Methodists,  in  whose  purity,  peace,  and  success  as  a  religious  community 
she  felt  a  tender  and  unvarying  interest ;  always  retaining,  however,  a 
filial  reverence  for  the  Church  of  England,  and  particularly  for  its  evan- 
gelical ministers  and  members,  and  a  spirit  of  cordial  esteem  and  affec- 
tion toward  real  Christians  of  every  name.  During  the  period  of  her 
more  public  relation  to  the  Wesleyan  societies  as  the  wife  of  a  minister, 
she  was,  in  the  London,  South  Manchester,  Salford,  and  other  circuits, 
the  leader  of  classes  of  females,  all  of  which,  with  one  exception,  she  was, 
at  the  request  of  the  preachers  for  the  time  being,  the  instrument  of  first 
collecting  together,  and  by  whose  members,  respectively,  her  instructions 
and  prayers  were  highly  valued.  In  other  towns  where  slie  was  called 
to  reside  she  was  ever  intent  on  doing  good,  and,  except  when  interrupted 
by  affliction,  unwearied  in  labors  of  love  and  mercy. 

Iler  health  was  constitutionally  good,  in  a  more  than  ordinary  degree, 
until  the  autumn  of  1827,  when  it  began  to  fail.  Since  that  period,  with 
scarcely  more  than  one  interval  of  any  long  continuance  (tind  that  one 
of  very  recent  date),  she  was  an  almost  constant  sufferer,  cither  from  the 
actual  pressure  of  agonizing  pain,  or  from  the  exhausting  effects  of  its 
frequent  paroxysms,  or  from  the  terror  of  its  hourly-anticipated  recur- 
rence. Even  during  this  dreadful  ordeal,  the  characteristics  of  her  nat- 
ural temper,  improved  and  sustained  by  the  principles  and  consolations 
of  religion  ;  her  vivacity  and  cheerfulness  ;  her  unwillingness  to  give 
trouble,  and  eagerness  to  minister  to  the  comfort  and  joy  of  others  when 
not  literally  incapacitated  l)y  the  intensity  of  her  own  pain,  were  con- 
stantly apparent. 

The  interval  of  comparative  exemption  from  violent  paroxysms  of  suf- 
fering, and  of  apparent  restoration  to  a  state  of  vigorous  health,  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made,  though,  by  leading  her  family  and  friends  to  hope, 
alas !  too  fondly,  that  the  bitterness  of  death  was  past,  it  aggravated  the 
pang  inflicted  by  the  sudden  and  fatal  termination  of  her  returning  dis- 
ease, is  nevertheless  regarded  by  them  with  feelings  of  unfeigned  thank- 
fulness. The  somewhat  extended  respite  thus  vouchsafed,  and  her  tem- 
porary recovery,  of  bodily  and  mental  activity,  afforded  many  occasions 
for  illustrating  to  their  view  the  solidity  and  excellence  of  her  Christian 
character  after  all  the  trials  which  it  had  undergone ;   and,  above  all,  it 


APPENDIX   J.  377 

afforded  to  herself  the  opportunity,  which  there  is  now  good  reason  to  be 
assured  that  she  was  divmcly  led  to  value  and  improve,  of  calm  and  hap- 
py preparation  for  the  "  change"  which  was  so  soon  to  "  come." 

The  period  m  question,  and  especially  the  last  months  and  weeks  of 
it,  were  marked  by  a  growing  devotion  of  spirit,  by  evident  signs  of 
increasing  profit  and  enjoyment  in  Divine  ordinances,  and  by  general 
meekness  and  serenity  of  mind.  There  is  now  reason  to  think  that, 
since  her  return  to  London,  not  quite  three  weeks  before  her  death,  her 
thoughts  were  specially  directed  to  contemplate  the  great  uncertainty 
of  earthly  comforts,  and  the  possibilUy  of  a  sudden  transition  into  eter- 
nity. She  has  been  since  busily  employed,  partly  in  the  orderly  arrange- 
ment of  her  domestic  affairs,  and  partly  in  certain  plans  of  private  benev- 
olence and  kindness,  in  which  her  characteristic  compassion  for  distress, 
and  especially  for  what  was  once  affluence,  now  reduced  to  circumstances 
of  want  and  wretchedness,  had  induced  her  warmly  to  engage.  The 
last  Sabbath  of  her  earthly  sojourn  appears,  from  various  circumstances, 
which  excited,  even  at  the  time,  the  observation  of  her  husband  and  fam- 
ily, to  have  been  eminently  a  day  of  much  holy  feeling  and  enjoyment, 
especially  during  the  afternoon,  which,  according  to  her  invariable  rule, 
she  spent  in  retirement  with  her  Bible  and  her  God.  There  was  some- 
thing peculiar  in  her  countenance  and  demeanor  when,  after  that  holy 
exercise,  s!ie  rejoined  the  domestic  circle,  which  indicated  that  her  com- 
munion during  those  hours  of  solitude  and  devotion  had  been  with  Christ 
and  with  heaven.  In  the  forenoon  of  Monday,  September  28th,  she  left 
her  home  with  the  intention  of  taking,  with  her  husband,  a  short  journey 
into  the  country  on  one  of  those  errands  of  friendly  and  benevolent  serv- 
ice for  which  she  was  ever  ready.  She  was  seized,  before  she  pro- 
ceeded far,  by  a  violent  attack  of  what  has  since  appeared  to  be  her  old 
and  deeply-rooted  malady,  for  the  relief  of  which  the  usual  remedies  were 
administered,  and,  as  it  seemed  for  a  while,  successfully  ;  but  the  parox- 
ysms of  pain  soon  returned  with  greater  severity,  and  it  was  not  until  sever- 
al hours  of  intense  suffering  had  elapsed  that  she  became  more  composed, 
and  at  length  appeared  to  fall  into  a  deep  sleep  ;  not,  however,  of  a  char- 
acter materially  different  from  that  which,  on  many  former  occasions, 
had  been  observed  gradually  to  terminate  in  restoration  to  ease  and  com- 
fort. Her  last  words  were  expressive  of  her  sorrow  for  the  trouble  she 
had  given  to  her  attendants.  About  four  o'clock  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, while  her  husband  was  preparing  for  her  something  which  he  hoped 
might  farther  relieve  her,  she  appeared  suddenly  to  raise  herself  in 
her  bed,  changed  her  position,  again  lay  down,  and  died  !  She  exchanged 
mortality  for  life  and  bliss  eternal  on  the  29th  of  September,  1835,  in  the 
fifty-fourth  year  of  her  age. 

Sweet  is  the  remembrance  of  her  pietjs  her  tenderness,  her  active 
charity,  her  conjugal  and  maternal  love  and  assiduities,  her  many  Chris- 
tian graces.     During  the  last  year  of  her  life  the  shadows  of  suffering 


378  APPENDIX  J. 

had  passed  away,  and  tlierc  remained,  undisfigurcd  and  beauteous,  the 
lineaments  of  a  character  maturing  into  heavenly  brightness.  Tlie  fatal 
termination  of  her  long  familiar  disorder  came  on  us  by  surprise  ;  but  we 
are  inclined  to  believe,  not  only  on  general  principles,  but  from  certain 
indications  in  her  own  case  (which,  however,  were  not  so  interpreted  at 
the  time),  that  her  mind  was  under  preparation,  special,  deep,  delightful 
— perhaps  at  the  last  entrancing — which  took  her  attention  away  from  a 
receding  world,  and  left  us  without  the  consolation  (the  only  consolation, 
however,  which  is  withheld  from  us)  of  her  last  testimony.  How  joyful 
the  surprise  to  a  weary  voyager,  half  slumbering  in  his  berth,  to  be  awak- 
ened by  the  intelligence  that  what  he  had  taken  for  a  common  swell  of 
the  sea,  such  as  he  had  experienced  on  many  a  stormy  night  before,  with 
yet  no  land  in  sight,  is  nothing  less  than  the  effect  of  a  gale  that  has 
driven  the  vessel  suddenly  into  port,  and  of  the  agitation  of  the  waves 
near  the  shore,  and  that  his  father  and  elder  brother,  and  many  friends, 
are  already  seen  on  the  strand  waiting  to  welcome  him !  Such  was  her 
joy.  "  Shortly  ere  she  died"  (to  use  the  language  of  her  husband,  who 
unconsciously  saw  her  die)  "  she  seemed  to  receive  a  sudden  summons 
to  depart  and  be  with  Christ,  and,  by  an  effort  of  body  as  well  as  of  mind, 
she  sprang  up  to  attend  it." 

Perhaps  some  other  record  of  what  was  admirable  and  exemplary  in 
the  deceased  may  be  deemed  expedient  hereafter ;  at  present,  there  is 
time  only  for  the  following  testimony  of  one  who  knew  her  long  and  well 
(Mrs.  Buhner). 

"  Mrs.  Bunting  was  distinguished  for  great  energy  of  character.  Her 
judgment  was  sound,  and  her  principles  well  and  strongly  formed.  She 
was  benevolent  in  purpose,  and  prompt  in  executing  what  her  liberal  heart 
devised.  Her  kindness  and  activity  in  accomplishing  a  philanthropic  ob- 
ject surmounted  difficulties,  and  disregarded  those  personal  sacrifices  to 
which  those  arc  exposed  who  undertake  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  af- 
flicted and  forlorn.  Nor,  while  she  sought  to  mitigate  calamity,  was  she 
unmindful  of  the  sensibilities  of  those  to  whom  she  ministered  relief: 
there  was  a  tact  of  courtesy  and  kindness  which  made  her  generous  ef- 
fort doubly  felt. 

"  In  the  sorrows  of  her  friends,  when  suffering  under  desolating  and 
afflictive  dispensations,  .she  took  a  lively  interest,  and  by  modes  the  most 
ingeniously  and  thoughtfully  adapted  to  their  circumstances  endeavored 
to  alleviate  their  grief.  Engraven  on  the  tablet  of  the  heart,  the  en- 
deared remembrance  of  these  soothing,  delicate,  and  kind  expressions  of 
her  sympathy  can  never  he  obliterated  from  the  grateful  recollection  of 
those  minds  to  whom  her  friendship  was  a  solace  in  the  hour  of  trial, 
and  who  now  unfeignedly  lament  her  loss. 

"  Mrs.  Bunting's  religion  was  neither  speculative  nor  sentimental ;  it 
was  ba.sed  upon  the  firm  foundations  of  scriptural  truth.  It  had  its  seat 
in  the  understanding  as  well  as  in  the  heart,  and  its  reality  was  evinced 


APPENDIX   K.  379 

by  appropriate  fruits.  It  was  eminently  practical  ;  free  from  mystical 
abstractions  or  sectarian  technicalities.  It  was  evangelical  and  expan- 
sive ;  doctrinally  and  experimentally  a  deliberate,  believing,  and  thank- 
ful acceptance  of  the  great  scheme  of  mediatorial  mercy,  inducing  that 
reliance  on  it  for  salvation  which  brought  established  peace  of  con- 
science, and  gave  stability  and  strength  to  hope.  A  life  devoted  to  the 
vigorous  discharge  of  every  social  and  domestic  duty,  with  that  habitual 
piety  of  heart  which  led  her  to  confide  her  best  and  dearest  interests 
to  the  gracious  and  parental  government  of  God,  and  which,  under  cir- 
cumstances of  severe  personal  suffering,  induced  patient  and  submissive 
acquiescence  in  the  Divine  will,  these  were  the  practical  results  of  Chris- 
tian principles,  and  the  continued  evidences  of  the  genuine  and  sterling 
nature  of  her  faith. 

"  In  conversation  she  was  lively  and  intelligent,  full  of  point  and  spir- 
it, and  on  religious  subjects  showed  much  discrimination,  and  a  quick  per- 
ception of  the  slightest  deviation  from  the  severe  and  simple  majesty  of 
truth.  This  general  impression  remains  as  the  result  of  long-continued 
intercourse,  which  might  have  been  confirmed  l)y  particular  instances  had 
memory  been  charged  with  various  conversations,  which  are  now,  alas  ! 
ef!liced.  One  of  the  most  recent  was  on  the  subject  of  sudden  death,  in 
which  Mrs.  Bunting  acquiesced  with  her  friend  that,  however  desirable 
a  season  of  warning  might  be  in  order  to  complete  an  immediate  prep- 
aration, yet  that  the  time  and  circumstances  connected  with  that  awful 
change  might,  without  anxiety,  be  left  to  the  disposal  of  Divine  wisdom 
and  love." 


K,  page  249. 

Extracts  from  a  Statement  of  Facts  and  Observations  relative  to  the 
late  Separation  from  the  Methodist  Society  in  Manchester,  affection- 
ately addressed  to  the  Memebrs  of  that  Body  ly  their  Preachers  and 
Leaders. 

We  shall  now  subjoin  what  we  promised — our  reasons  for  thinking  that 
indiscriminate  admission  to  meetings  for  Christian  fellowship  is  highly 
improper. 

1.  We  believe  that  such  promiscuous  admission  of  all  who  choose  to 
attend,  without  distinction  of  motives  or  characters,  is  a  gross  violation 
of  our  Lord's  precept  in  Matthew,  vii.,  6.  Give  not  that  which  is  holy 
unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  sivine,lest  they  tram- 
ple them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  again  and  rend  you.  This  text  we 
understand  as  containing  a  general  rule,  applicable  to  a  great  variety  of 
particular  cases,  but  specially  and  justly  applicable  to  the  case  now  under 
consideration.  And  we  could  easily  produce  instances  in  which  the  pearls 
of  Christian  doctrine  and  experience  have  actually  been  thus  trampled 


380  APPENDIX   K. 

under  their  feet  by  profane  sinners  who  have  attended  the  meeting  at 
North  Street  for  purposes  of  mirth  and  ridicule,  and  have  afterward  most 
awfully  abused  wdiat  they  there  heard.  If  it  be  said  that  the  same  ob- 
jection hes  against  the  public  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  promiscuous 
auditories,  we  answer  that  the  two  cases  materially  differ.  Preaching  is, 
by  Divine  authority,  expressly  directed  to  mankind  at  large.  But  the 
precepts  which  constitute  our  warrant  for  meetings  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship are  as  expressly  limited  within  a  much  narrower  sphere.  We  are 
commanded  to  teach  and  admonish  one  another ;  to  comfort  and  edify 
one  another ;  to  confess  our  faults  07ie  to  another ;  and  to  provoke  one 
another  to  love  and  good  works.  To  his  ministers  God  has  said, "  Go 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.'''  But  where 
is  it  written,  "Go  and  relate  all  the  particular  details  of  your  personal 
experience  in  religious  things  to  every  creature  V  In  public  preaching, 
the  grace  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  consolations  and  promises  which  belong 
to  penitents  and  believers,  are  guarded  against  the  profane  prostitution  of 
others  by  suitable  cautions  and  admonitions.  But  this  point  is  not,  and 
never  can  be,  sufficiently  secured  in  meetings  like  these,  where  private 
Christians  are  the  speakers,  many  of  whom  are  comparatively  ignorant 
and  inexperienced.  Public  preaching  is  designed,  among  otlicr  purposes, 
to  be  the  instrument  oi producing  penitence  and  faith,  and  is  therefore 
properly  addressed  to  the  impenitent  and  Christlcss  ;  but  guch  meetings 
as  those  now  under  discussion  in  their  own  nature  presuppose  either  pen- 
itence or  faitli  in  the  persons  who  attend  them,  and  are  designed  to  en- 
courage seeking  souls,  and  to  edify  and  confirm  the  faithful.  Finally, 
public  preaching  does  not  constitute  any  religious  society  or  ecclesiasti- 
cal union  among  those  who  hear  it ;  but  meetings  like  that  at  North 
Street  do  imply  such  union,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  accessible  only  to 
persons  entitled  to  expect  the  right  hand  of  fellow^ship,  and  willing  to 
submit  to  those  terms  on  which  alone  that  fellowship  can  be  scripturally 
conceded. 

In  order  to  establish  and  vindicate  the  application  here  made  of  our 
Savior's  general  rule,  we  shall  quote  the  following  passage  from  Mr. 
Wesley's  excellent  Discourses  on  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  which 
discourses,  together  with  all  the  other  writings  of  the  venerable  author, 
we  are  glad  to  take  this  opportunity  of  recommending  to  your  frequent 
and  careful  perusal. 

"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  dogs.  The  holy,  the  peculiar  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel,  such  as  were  hid  from  the  ages  and  generations 
of  old,  and  arc  now  made  known  to  us  only  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  inspiration  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  are  not  to  be  prostituted 
unto  these  men  who  know  not  if  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost.  Not,  indeed, 
that  the  embassadors  of  Christ  can  refrain  from  declaring  them  in  the 
great  congregation,  wherein  some  of  these  may  probably  be.  We  must 
speak,  whether  men  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear.     But  this  is 


APPENDIX   K.  881 

not  the  case  with  private  Christians.  They  do  not  bear  that  awful  char- 
acter ;  nor  arc  they  under  any  manner  of  obligation  to  force  these  great 
and  glorious  truths  on  them  who  contradict  and  blaspheme,  who  have  a 
rooted  enmity  against  them.  Nay,  they  ought  not  so  to  do,  but  rather  to 
lead  them  as  they  are  able  to  bear.  Do  not  begin  a  discourse  with  these 
upon  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  talk  with  them 
in  their  own  manner  and  upon  their  own  principles.  With  the  rational, 
honorable,  unjust  epicure,  reason  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judg- 
ment to  come.  This  is  the  most  probable  way  to  make  Felix  tremble. 
Reserve  higher  subjects  for  men  of  higher  attainments. 

"  Neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine — persons  making  no  pre- 
tense to  purity  either  of  heart  or  life,  but  working  all  uncleanncss  with 
greediness.  Talk  not  to  them  of  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  ;  of  the 
things  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard ;  which  of  consequence, 
as  they  have  no  other  inlets  of  knowledge,  no  spiritual  senses,  it  can  not 
enter  into  their  hearts  to  conceive.  Tell  not  them  of  the  exceeding 
great  and  precious  promises  which  God  hath  given  us  in  the  Son  of  his 
love.  What  conception  can  they  have  of  being  made  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature,  who  do  not  even  desire  to  escape  the  corruption  that  is 
in  the  loorld  through  lust  ?  Just  as  much  knowledge  as  swine  have  of 
pearls,  and  as  much  relish  as  they  have  for  them ;  so  nmch  relish  have 
they  for  the  deep  things  of  God,  so  much  knowledge  of  the  mysteries  of 
the  Gospel,  who  are  immersed  in  the  mire  of  this  world,  in  worldly  pleas- 
ures, desires,  and  cares.  Oh,  cast  not  tliose  pearls  before  these,  lest  they 
trample  them  under  their  feet,  lest  they  utterly  despise  what  they  can 
not  understand,  and  speak  evil  of  the  things  which  they  know  not." — 
Wesley's  Works  [edition  1771],  vol.  ii.,  p.  346,  et  seq. 

2.  The  promiscuous  admission  which  has  been  practiced  at  North 
Street  is  contrary  to  the  general  current  of  scriptural  history  and  exam- 
ple. Come  hither,  said  David,  all  ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  and  I  will 
tell  YOU  ichat  he  hath  done  for  my  soul.  In  the  days  of  Malachi,  they 
THAT  FEARED  THE  LORD  werc  the  pcrsous  who  spake  often  one  to  an- 
other, and  the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard,  and  a  book  of  remembrance 
ivas  loritten.  Our  blessed  Master,  too,  was  careful  to  speak  icisdom  only 
among  them  that  were  perfect.  His  gracious  exertions  for  the  salvation 
of  men  were  strictly  governed  by  his  own  rule  :  whosoever  hath,  to 
him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more  abundantly.  He  was  wont 
to  reserve  his  most  particular  and  most  excellent  communications  for 
those  who  were  not  only  his  hearers,  but  also  his  stated  and  avowed  dis- 
ciples, and  who  had  previously  attained  to  such  a  maturity  of  knowledge 
in  the  first  principles  of  his  doctrine  as  disposed  them  to  receive  and  im- 
prove his  farther  and  more  luminous  instructions.  Among  other  instances 
in  which  he  has  left  us  the  example  of  this  judicious  and  prudent  reserve, 
it  may  be  sufficient  here  to  quote  one.  When  he  was  alone,  they  that 
w'ERE  ABOUT  HIM  loith  the  twclvc  uskcd  of  him  the  parable.     And  he 


382  APPENDIX   K. 

said  unto  them,  unto  vou  it  is  given  to  know  the  mystery  of  the  king' 
dam  of  God ;  but  unto  tiiem  that  are  without,  all  these  things  are 
done  IN  PARABLES.  With  many  parables,  it  is  added,  in  the  same  chap- 
ter, spake  he  the  word  unto  them,  unto  the  people  at  large,  as  they  ivere 
able  to  hear  it ;  hut  luithout  a  parable  spake  he  not  unto  them  ;  and 
WHEN  they  were  ALONE,  hc  expounded  all  things  to  his  disciples. 
Compare  Matt.,  xiii.,  11,  12,  with  Mark,  iv.,  10,  11,3-1.  Evident  traces 
of  similar  discrimination  and  caution  are  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  the 
first  Christians.  Thus,  at  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  three  thousand  were 
such  as  first  gladly  received  Peter's  word,  and  were  then  by  baptism  in- 
itiated into  the  Church.  And  it  is  after  such  initiation  only  that  they 
are  said  to  have  been  allowed  to  continue  steadfastly,  not  merely  in  the 
apostles'  doctrine,  but  in  their  T^vivSite  fellowship,  and  breaking  of  bread, 
and  prayers  :  Acts,  ii.,  41,  43.  When  Paul  and  Barnabas  had  preached 
in  the  public  synagogue  at  Antioch,  after  the  congregation  was  broken 
up  the  more  serious  and  religious  part  of  it  followed  them  ;  and  to  these 
separately  they  spoke  in  a  more  particular  and  appropriate  way,  and  per- 
suaded them  to  continue  in  the  grace  of  God:  Acts,  xiii.,  14.  And  on 
their  return  to  the  same  place,  after  an  excursion  to  Lystra  and  elsewhere, 
they  gathered  the  Church — not  the  mixed  multitude,  but  the  Church 
together,  and  rehearsed  all  that  God  had  done  ivith  them  :  Acts,  xiv., 
27.  We  entreat  you,  brethren,  to  read,  compare,  and  consider  these  pas- 
sages, and  then  to  say  whether  the  plan  of  promiscuous  admission  into 
meetings  for  the  declaration  of  religious  experience,  and  for  speaking 
peculiarly  on  the  deep  things  of  God,  be  not,  as  we  have  asserted,  con- 
trary to  the  general  current  of  Scriptural  example.  Oh,  let  us  not  at- 
tempt to  be  wise  or  zealous  above  what  is  icrittcn !  Let  us  not,  under 
the  idea  of  doing  more  extensive  good,  depart  from  the  perfect  pattern 
of  our  Lord,  or  violate  the  perfect  law  of  his  holy  word.  If  men  will 
not  be  converted  by  Moses  and  the  prophets,  by  Christ  and  the  apostles, 
as  regularly  preached  to  them  in  the  great  congregation — if  thoy  will 
not  be  brought  to  reflection  and  prayer  by  the  stated  methods  of  Divine 
providence  and  grace,  neither  will  they  repent  though  we  deviate  from 
God's  appointed  order  and  revealed  will  by  permitting  them,  while  im- 
penitent, to  associate  with  us  in  the  Church. 

3.  Another  objection  to  llic  plan  of  indiscriminate  admission  is  its  total 
inconsistency  with  the  very  nature,  business,  and  design  of  those  relig- 
ious meetings  to  which  we  refer.  They  are  meetings  of  the  Church 
for  Christian  fellowship,  for  the  communion  o/"  Saints.  Li  them,  the 
special  interests  and  concerns  of  Christ's  family,  the  duties,  promises, 
consolations,  trials,  and  prospects  which  are  peculiar  to  the  people  of 
God,  as  such,  arc  the  grand  subjects  of  conversation.  But  we  ask,  in 
the  name  of  Reason,  what  have  aliens,  and  strangers,  and  enemies  to 
the  commonwealth  of  our  Israel  to  do  with  these  1  Christian  communion 
obviously  belongs  only  to  professed  members  of  a  Christian  community. 


APPENDIX   K.  383 

For  what  fellowship  hath  righteousness  with  unrighteousness,  and  what 
communion  hath  light  with  darkness  1     And  what  concord  hath  Christ 
with  Belial,  or  what  part  hath  he  that  believeth  with  an  infidel  1     See  2 
Cor.,  vi.,  11-18.     Can  careless  or  profane  sinners  be  expected  to  weep 
with  suffering  or  tempted  saints^oxio  rejoice  with  such  as  rejoice?     Can 
they  take  sweet  counsel  together  with  Christians,  or  say  to  them  in  the 
language  of  Job,  J  ivould  strengthen  you  loitk  my  jnouth,  and  the  moving 
of  my  lips  should  assaugc  your  grief?     Can  they  show  forth  the  praises 
of  God  for  having  called  those  whose  experience  is  related  in  their  hear- 
ing out  of  darkness  into  marvelous  light?     Can  (hey  offer  the  prayer  of 
faith  for  such  as  confess  their  faults  that  they  may  be  healed  1     Alas ! 
for  all  these  duties  of  Christian  fellowship  they  are  totally  unqualified. 
They  have  neither  ability  nor  inclination  to  attempt  them.     And  why 
should  they  be  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  our  communion  in  Christ 
who  can  not  at  all  perform  those  mutual  offices  of  brotherly  love  w^hich 
it  necessarily  implies  ?     They  are  also  as  much  unprepared  to  receive 
for  themselves,  as  they  are  unable  to  communicate  to  others,  that  good 
which  such  meetings  are  designed  and  calculated  to  produce.     Can  they 
be  edified  or  built  up  in  holiness  who  have  never  laid  the  foundation 
even  of  repentance  from  dead  works^,  and  much  less  that  of  faith  toward 
God  ?     Are  they  likely  to  be  benefited  by  that  strong  meat,  which  belong- 
eth,  says  St.  Paul,  to  them  that  are  of  full  age,  who  are  known  to  reject 
and  nauseate  even  the  milk  of  the  Word?     Ought  the  oil  of  heavenly 
consolation  to  be  poured  upon  consciences  that  were  never  w-ounded  by 
a  sense  of  sin  and  danger?     Does  not  such  a  practice  tend  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  ungodly,  to  soothe  and  harden  them  in  their  iniquity, 
and  make  them  wallow  like  swine  in  their  filthiness  1     Such  promiscuous 
admissions  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  do  much  evil.     Where 
this  plan  is  followed,  many  will  be  daubed  with  untempered  mortar,  and 
steal  those  cordials  to  which  they  have  no  lawful  claim ;  the  truly  pious 
will  be  often  grieved,  and  hindered  from  comfortably  w-aiting  on  God; 
they  who  are  qualified  to  speak  most  profitably  and  instructively  will 
feel  themselves  fettered  and  silenced ;  and,  in  general,  only  those  who 
are  the  most  inexperienced  and  the  least  judicious  will  care  to  open  their 
mouths  at  all.     Thus  that  edification,  which  this  mistaken  and  unscrip- 
tural  laxity  is  designed  to  increase  and  extend,  is  in  fact  materially 
diminished  by  it ;  actual  mischief  is  effected  where  greater  good  was 
intended ;  the  grand  design  of  meetings  for  Christian  fellowship  is  de- 
feated, and  the  abuse  of  them  by  some  unhappily  leads  others  to  under- 
value and  neglect  them. 

4.  We  object  to  the  plan  of  indiscriminate  admission  because  it  im- 
pedes the  due  administration  of  ecclesiastical  discipline.  This  is  an 
express  ordinance  of  God — as  much  His  ordinance  as  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  or  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  whatever  ma- 
terially interferes  with  its  regular  exercise  is,  for  that  reason,  unscriptural. 


384  APPENDIX  K. 

and  highly  injurious  to  the  souls  of  men  and  to  the  interests  of  religion. 
One  grand  object  of  this  disciijline  is  to  effect  and  maintain  an  open  and 
visible  separation  and  distinction  between  the  Church  and  the  World ; 
between  those  who  do,  and  those  who  do  not  make  a  credible,  consistent, 
and  public  profession  of  serious  religion.  Under  the  Jewish  economy, 
lepers,  and  others  whom  the  law  pronounced  to  be  unclean,  were  solemnly 
and  strictly  excluded  from  the  congregation,  lest  they  should  defile  the 
camp  in  which  the  Lord  dwelt.  In  the  days  of  Nehemiah,  it  is  recorded 
with  evident  approbation  that  they  separated  from  Israel  all  the  mixed 
MULTITUDE.  The  neglect  of  such  godly  discrimination  is  mentioned  by 
Ezekiel  as  one  of  the  heinous  sins  by  which  the  anger  of  Jehovah  was 
excited  against  Jerusalem.  Her  priests  have  violated  my  law,  and  have 
profaned  my  holy  things ;  they  have  put  no  difference  between 
THE  holy  and  profane,  neither  have  they  showed  difference  betiveen 
the  unclean  and  the  clean.  Ye  have  brought  into  my  sanctuary  stran- 
gers uncircumcised  in  heart  and  uncircumciscd  in  flesh,  to  be  in  my 
sanctuary,  to  pollute  it :  Ezek.,  xxii.,  26  ;  xliv.,  7.  These  and  other 
similar  intimations  of  God's  will,  under  the  old  dispensation,  are  abund- 
antly confirmed  by  many  express  declarations  of  his  pleasure  which  are 
found  in  the  New  Testament.  The  members  of  the  visible  churches  of 
Christ  are  every  where  described  as  a  distinct  and  peculiar  society  of 
men,  gathered  out  of  the  world,  receiving  one  another  in  the  Lord,  united 
by  bonds  of  Christian  love  and  order,  and  by  that  union,  as  well  as  by 
the  apparent  sanctity  of  their  tempers  and  conduct,  distinguished  from 
the  profane  and  unbelieving  part  of  mankind.  Now  we  ask.  How  can 
this  most  reasonable  and  Scriptural  distinction  between  the  professed 
disciples  of  Christ  and  those  who  are  strangers,  if  not  enemies,  to  his 
cause,  be  possibly  maintained,  and  rendered  sufficiently  visible  and  con- 
spicuous, but  by  the  strict  e.\clusion  of  the  latter  class  of  persons  from 
meeting  with  the  former  in  their  private  assemblies — in  their  assemblies 
for  such  special  exercises  of  piety  and  brotherly  love  as  belong  to  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  alone,  and  as  can  not,  from  their  very  nature,  be 
common  to  saints  and  sinners,  to  the  Church  and  the  world  conjointly  ? 
To  confound  or  obscure,  by  indiscriminate  admission  to  these  holy  as- 
semblies, those  differences  which  God  himself  has  established,  is  no  light 
evil.  "  When  the  keys  of  the  Church,"  says  the  great  Baxter,  "  are 
not  used  as  they  ought,  to  shut  out  the  impenitent  and  wicked,  nor  to 
difference  between  the  precious  and  the  vile,  it  bardcneth  multitudes  in 
their  ungodliness,  and  persuadcth  them  that  they  are  really  of  the  same 
family  of  Christ  as  the  godly  are,  because  they  are  partakers  of  the  same 
holy  "ordinances."  Such  laxity  must  tend,  at  least,  to  make  men  care- 
less about  entering  into  close  fellowship  with  Christians,  since  it  permits 
them  to  enjoy  many  of  tho.se  outward  privileges  which  belong  to  religious 
society,  without  submitting  to  its  wholesome  restraints  and  scriptural 
regulations.     Every  plan  which  increases  this  great  evil,  already  too 


APPENDIX   K.  885 

fashionable  among  our  congregation,  we  are  bound  in  duty  most  strenu- 
ously to  discountenance,  as  equally  detrimental  to  the  Christian  cause  in 
general,  and  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  particular  individuals. 

Another  important  branch  of  Christian  discipline  consists  in  suspend- 
ing or  rejecting  from  all  religious  fellowship  and  intercourse  those  who 
have  formerly  been  acknowledged  as  brethren,  if  they  fall  into  such  gross 
and  scandalous  sins  as  may  call  for  public  expressions  of  disapprobation 
and  censure,  or  if  they  will  not  receive,  with  becoming  submission  and 
humility,  those  private  rebukes  and  admonitions  which  the  Church  or 
society,  by  its  officers,  may  have  deemed  it  proper  to  administer.  The 
following  are  a  specimen  of  the  various  passages  of  Scripture  which  not 
only  authorize,  but  require  such  expulsions :  /  have  written  unto  you 
NOT  TO  KEEP  COMPANY,  if  any  man  that  is  called  a  brother  be  a  forni- 
cator, or  covetous,  or  an  idolater,  or  a  roller,  of  a  drunkard,  or  an  ex- 
tortioner, loith  such  a  one,  no,  not  to  eat.  Put  away  from  among 
yourselves  that  ivicked  person:  1  Cor.,  v.,  11,  13.  A  man  that  is  a 
heretic,  that  is,  as  the  context  shows,  a  man  that  is  factious  and  conten- 
tious, and  thereby  promotes  unnecessary  schisms  and  divisions  in  the 
Church,  after  the  first  and  second  admonition,  reject:  Titus,  iii.,  10. 
If  he,  an  offijnding  brother,  refuse  to  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  unto 
thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  publican:  Matt.,  xviii.,  17.  These  pas- 
sages sufficiently  point  out  the  duty  of  Christian  societies  to  exclude 
disorderly  professors  from  their  communion  after  due  reproof,  and  they 
also  point  out  the  conduct  which  ought  to  be  observed  toward  persons 
tlms  excluded  both  by  churches  and  by  individuals.  They  clearly  pro- 
hibit all  religious  connection  with  them,  until,  by  confessing  their  faults, 
and  by  other  evidences  of  sincere  repentance,  they  are  rendered  fit  to  be 
received  anew  into  the  communion  of  the  faithful.  How,  then,  is  it 
consistent  with  the  holy  discipline  here  enjoined  to  admit  all  persons 
promiscuously,  and,  among  the  rest,  persons  excluded  from  the  body  for 
scandalous  immoralities,  into  meetings  of  the  kind  now  referred  to?  Is 
not  this  to  keep  company  with  them  in  the  way  most  expressly  forbid- 
den ?  Is  such  association  with  them  at  all  calculated  to  show  that  we 
view  them  as  unworthy  to  be  members  of  a  Christian  society,  and  con- 
sider them  as  heathen  men  and  publicans?  Does  it  not  rather  render  us 
partakers  of  their  evil  deeds,  and  is  it  not,  in  effect,  to  abet  them  in  their 
crimes,  and  encourage  them  in  obstinacy  and  impenitence?  Such  a 
practice  exposes  religion  itself,  and  religious  people  at  large,  to  the  oblo- 
quies of  the  world,  opens  the  mouth  of  those  who  are  seeking  occasion 
to  blaspheme,  and  lays  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  weak  and 
inexperienced.  Besides,  this  ill-judged  and  unscriptural  tenderness  is 
real  cruelty  even  to  those  whom  it  is  designed  to  favor  and  indulge. 
One  object  of  ecclesiastical  censures  and  expulsions  is  to  promote  the 
repentance  and  restoration  of  the  offisnder.  Such  exercises  of  discipline 
against  the  unruly  and  disorderly  are  nothing  less  than  means  of  grace 

Vol.  T.— E 


386  APPENDIX   K. 

when  managed  on  the  part  of  the  Church  with  strict  conformity  to  the 
laws  of  Christ,  and  received  with  due  consideration  and  liuniility  on  the 
part  of  the  unhappy  persons  against  whom  they  are  directed.     They 
are  God's  own  ordinance,  and  God  is  ready  to  grant  his  blessing  to  ren- 
der them  clToctual.     Hence  St.  Paul,  when  requiring  the  Corinthians  to 
inflict  ecclesiastical  punishment  on  the  incestuous  person,  assigns  this  as 
the  reason  and  end  of  that  punishment,  that  his  spirit  might  be  saved  in 
the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     And  when  he  commands  the  Thessalonians 
to  have  no  company  with  a  disobedient  and  disorderly  professor,  he  states 
this  as  his  motive  for  the  injunction,  that  he  may  be  ashamed.     (1  Cor., 
v.,  5;  2  Thess.,  iii.,  14.)     But  it  is  evident  that  this  end  of  Christian 
discipline  is  counteracted,  and  the  proper  effect  and  influence  of  it  are 
diminished,  if  not  wholly  prevented,  by  allowing  among  us  a  religious 
ineeting  conducted  on  th%  plan  of  that  in  North  Street.     Persons  under 
the  righteous  censure  of  the  body,  and  excluded  from  it  on  the  fullest 
proof  of  immoral  or  grossly  inconsistent  conduct,  may  easily  obtain  ac- 
cess to  this  meeting.     They  may  come  to  it  as  God's  people  cometh, 
and  sit  in  it  as  God's  people.     Their  exclusion  from  us  is  but  nominal 
and  apparent  while  so  many  of  our  own  members  and  leaders  thus  per- 
versely persist  to  hold  fellowship  with  them.     They  are  neither  ashamed 
nor  humbled  in  consequence  of  their  expulsion  from  us,  for  thoy  still 
enjoy  their  wonted  facility  of  admission  into  one  of  our  private  assem- 
blies.    The  edge  of  the  sword  of  discipline  is  thus  blunted.     They  laugh 
at  the  censures  for  which  they  should  have  sorrowed  and  wept ;  harden 
their  hearts  against  the  Church  and  its  ministers ;  despise  its  reproofs 
and  admonitions,  and  turn  into  an  occasion  of  additional  sin  and  crim- 
inality that  which  ought  to  have  produced  contrition,  confession,  and 
conversion.     If  one  such  irregular  meeting  be  tolerated  in  defiance  of  all 
order — a  meeting,  too,  for  which  there  is  no  necessity  whatsoever,  which 
was  never  established  or  sanctioned  in  the  usual  way  by  the  body  of 
preachers  and  leaders,  in  whose  appointment  alone  such  meetings  ought 
to  originate,  and  a  meeting  which  materially  interferes  with  our  own 
general  band,  held  at  the  very  same  hour— if  one  such  meeting,  we  say, 
be  tolerated,  why  not  more  1     If  the  doors  of  one  of  our  private  assem- 
blies be  thus  thrown  open  to  every  invader,  with  what  consistency  can 
we  refuse  to  wink  at  similar  intrusions  into  all  our  bands,  and  love-feasts, 
and  sacraments'?     And  then  what  will  become  of  Cliristian  purity  and 
discipline  ?  or  what  arc  we  to  do  with  many  explicit  declarations  and 
precepts  of  the  Word  of  God  ?     It  seems  to  us  that  the  practice  we  arc 
reprobating  is  in  fact  a  direct,  though  we  believe  not  an  intentional,  at- 
tack on  the  kingly  government  of  Christ  in  His  Church.     The  advocates 
for  this  practice  are  willing  that  he  should  teach  them  as  a  prophet  by 
the  ministry  of  His  word  in  public.      They  acknowledge  him  also  as  a 
priest,  and  are  desirous  to  be  justified  by  His  blood  and  sanctified  by  His 
spirit.     But  when,  as  Ki.ng  ok  Zion  and   Hkad  w  tiir  Church,  he 


APPENDIX   K.  387 

commands  all  who  will  be  his  disciples  indeed  to  testify  their  loyalty 
and  allegiance  to  him  by  openly  separating  themselves  from  the  rebel- 
lious and  unholy — by  joining  themselves  as  regular  members  to  some 
orderly  society  and  distinct  community  of  Christians,  according  o  the 
plan  of  the  New  Testament,  by  submitting  to  the  scriptural  authority 
and  direction  of  those  who  are  "  over  them  in  the  Lord,"  and  by  avoid- 
ing all  needless  familiarity,  and,  much  more,  all  religious  connection,  all 
unnecessary  intercourse  in  holy  things,  with  sinners,  and  worldlings,  and 
apostate  professors — when  Christ  requires  these  proofs  of  love  and  at- 
tachment, then  they  shrink,  and  hesitate,  and  remonstrate.  This  yoke 
they  are  not  prepared  to  bear ;  this  part  of  the  Savior's  burden  they 
can  not  be  persuaded  to  carry.  Then  they  talk  loudly  of  natural  rights 
and  of  Christian  liberty,  as  if,  because  we  have  no  master  on  earth,  we 
had  therefore  none  in  heaven ;  as  if  any  man  could  have  a  natural  right 
to  neglect  or  supersede  the  positive  ordinance  of  Jesus  Christ ;  as  if 
Christian  liberty  consisted  in  a  license  to  violate  at  pleasure  the  institu- 
tions oi  the  Gospel,  to  trample  on  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  and  to 
despise  or  vilify  those  by  whom  that  discipline  is  conscientiously  ad- 
ministered !  We  believe  that  the  persons  whose  views  we  oppose  are 
not  aware  that  such  principles  as  these  are  implied  in  the  practice  which 
they  defend  ;  but,  while  we  cheerfully  render  this  justice  to  their  inten- 
tions, we  can  not  but  express  our  free  opinion  as  to  the  anti-Christian 
nature  and  tendency  ot  their  conduct* 

5.  The  last  objection  which  we  shall  urge  to  the  plan  which  has  been 
followed  at  North  Street  is  its  contrariety  to  Methodistical  usages  and 
rules,  It  is  a  new  and  almost  unheard-of  thing  among  us  ;  an  innova- 
tion on  the  practice  of  the  Christian  Church  at  large,  and  an  innovation 
on  the  established  regulations  of  Methodism  in  particular.  The  resolu- 
tion of  the  leaders'  meeting,  in  defense  of  which  these  arguments  are 
offered,  does  not  impose  any  new  rule  of  action.  The  refusal  to  admit 
into  our  meetings  for  religious  fellowship  persons  of  whose  moral  char- 
acter, or  sincere  desire  to  obtain  instruction  and  salvation,  we  have  not 
satisfactory  evidence,  is  a  custom  as  old  as  the  Methodist  societies.  The 
rules  which  require  it  were  in  force,  and  were  known  to  be  in  force, 
when  the  brethren  who  now  violate  them  first  joined  our  body.  To 
those  rules,  therefore,  as  well  as  to  all  the  rest,  they  have  virtually  en- 
gaged to  submit,  so  long  as  they  should  choose  to  continue  members  of 
our  society.     These  considerations  alone  ought  to  have  convinced  them 

*  On  the  subject  of  discipline  we  will  again  quote  the  words  of  Mr.  Bazter;  words  homely 
indeed,  but  forcible  : 

"  Discipline  is  of  great  moment  for  the  honor  of  Christ  and  his  Church,  that  it  may  not 
be  as  impure  as  the  infidel  world,  nor  a  swine-sty  instead  of  a  society  of  saints ;  and  that 
it  may  be  known  that  Christ  came  not  as  deceivers  do,  to  get  Himself  a  number  of  follow- 
ers as  bad  as  other  men,  but  to  sanctify  a  peculiar  people  to  God,  zealous  of  good  works, 
and  forsaking  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil ;  and  to  keep  Christiana  from  the  snare 
and  the  shame  of  infection?  and  wicked  associates;  and,  finally,  to  keep  sin  under  open 
disgi-ace."— Baxtee  on  Matthew  xviii. 


388  APPENDIX  K. 

tliat,  even  if  their  proceedings  could  be  proved  lawful,  they  were,  how- 
ever, highly  inexpedient.  Was  it  not  their  duty  to  "  give  no"  needless 
"offense  to  the  Church  of  GodV'  Ought  not  individuals,  where  con- 
science is  not  plainly  concerned,  to  yield  to  the  general  wish  and  judg- 
ment of  their  brethren  "?  Hath  not  the  Lord  required  this,  when  he  says, 
"  Obey  thein  who  have  the  rule  over  you  ;"  and, "  Submit  yourselves  one 
to  another  in  the  fear  of  God  ■?"  Is  it  meet  that  the  mani/  should  be 
governed  by  the  few ;  or  that  the  feiv,  if  they  think  it  right  to  remain  in 
connection  with  us,  should  peaceably  subject  themselves  to  the  solemn 
decisions  of  the  ?nan]/  9  Surely,  the  constant  and  long-established  usages 
of  the  society,  even  though  they  were  not  expressly  sanctioned  by  Scrip- 
ture, if  strictly  conformable  to  the  sense  and  spirit  of  its  general  rules, 
are  not  on  slight  grounds  to  be  violated.  This  may  be  fairly  inferred 
from  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  1  Cor.,  xi.,  16  :  If  any  man  seem  to  be  con- 
tentious, WE  HAVE  NO  SUCH  CUSTOM,  NEITHER  THE  ChUIICHES   OF  GoD. 

We  can  not,  very  dear  friends,  dismiss  this  subject  without  remarking 
to  you  that,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  union,  we  have  long  been  silent 
when  perhaps  we  ought  to  have  borne  a  faithful  testimony  against  what 
we  could  not  cordially  approve  of. 

For  several  years,  some  of  our  members  in  different  societies  have 
appeared  remarkably  zealous  in  public  worship,  and  have  shown  a  dispo- 
sition to  assume  the  name  of  Revivalists ;  but  a  wish  to  preserve  the 
union  of  the  body  induced  us  to  check,  with  constant  care,  every  destinc- 
tion  that  in  the  least  tended  to  a  party  spirit.  A  revival  of  genuine  re- 
ligion where  it  is  low,  and  its  extension  where  it  is  prosperous,  will,  we 
trust,  ever  have  our  best  wishes,  and  those  friends  who  act  according  to 
the  Word  of  God  our  ready  and  cheerful  co-operation.  For  some  of 
those  persons  above-mentioned  we  have  a  very  high  esteem,  and  had  all 
of  them  evidenced  the  same  Christian  temper,  we  should  have  heartily 
rejoiced  in  the  fruit  of  their  labors.  But  in  many  of  them  there  has  ap- 
peared a  manifest  want  of  genuine  humility.  Do  they  think  soberly  of 
themselves,  as  they  ought  to"  tliink?  Do  they  ever  doubt  the  strength 
of  their  own  judgment,  or  generally  express  themselves  with  becoming 
modesty  on  religious  subjects'?  Are  they  easily  entreated'?  Do  they 
show  an  openness  of  mind  to  conviction  ?  We  must  witli  grief  declare 
that  we  have  had  no  proper  evidence  of  such  a  spirit,  although  it  be  the 
brightest  ornament  of  the  Christian  character. 

What  has  added  to  our  fear  that  the  preceding  observation  is  but  too 
just,  is  the  degree  of  censoriousncss  which  persons  of  this  description 
have  shown.  Christians  and  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  however  eminent 
for  holiness,  age,  and  usefulness,  if  they  can  not  see  things  in  the  same 
light  with  them,  or  can  not  go  to  all  their  lengths  of  noise  and  shouting 
in  the  worship  of  God,  are  viewed  by  them  as  "dead  professors,"  " formal 
worshipers,"  "  dry  sticks,"  "  dull  souls,"  as  "  having  nothing  of  the  life 
of  religion,"  etc.,  etc.,  etc.     Where  is  tlie  love  that  hopeth  all  things? 


APPENDIX  K.  889 

Where  are  Christian  candor  and  kindness  ?  If  such  be  the  fruit  of  what 
some  have  falsely  called  a  revival  of  religion,  we  pray  the  Father  of 
mercies  to  preserve  all  our  dear  people  from  it. 

Nor  can  we  approve  of  the  noise  and  rant  which  have  been  encour- 
aged by  those  persons  in  their  religious  exercises,  because  we  conceive 
them  to  be  inconsistent  witii  that  reverence  which  ought  to  be  felt  by 
every  one  who  approaches  the  majesty  of  heaven.  The  Holy  Scrip- 
tures call  for  fear  and  reverence  in  all  those  who  appear  before  God  in 
his  worship  :  Psalm  Ixxxix.,  7  ;  Eccles.,  v.,  1,  2  ;  Hebrews,  xii.,  28,29. 
If  we  loQli  at  the  heavenly  host  as  represented  to  the  Prophet  Isaiah 
(chap,  vi.,  2,  3),  and  the  effect  which  that  representation  had  upon  his 
mind,  we  shall  perceive  that  clear  views  of  the  Divine  Being  will  pro- 
duce a  sacred  awe,  and  abase  the  spiritual  worshiper  as  in  the  dust  before 
him.  But  the  ignorant,  untimely  vociferations  of  some  persons  who  are 
fond  of  noise,  do,  in  our  opinion,  savor  much  of  irreverence  of  spirit. 

Our  wish,  desire,  and  prayer  to  God  for  you,  our  dear  people,  is,  that 
you  may  escape  these  and  all  other  evils,  and  that  you  may  be  Christians 
indeed  in  principle  and  practice  ;  in  the  Church,  the  family,  and  the  clos- 
et ;  that  you  may,  in  all  your  transactions  with  men,  adorn  your  Christian 
profession,  and  shine  as  lights  in  the  world.  We  ardently  desire  that 
you  may  be  clear  as  to  your  acceptance  with  the  Father  througli  Christ, 
and  that  the  God  of  hope  may  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing. 
We  beseech  you,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  to  present  your  bodies  to  him 
a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable,  as  your  reasonable  service.  For 
you,  as  a  people,  the  Lord  hath  done  great  things ;  but  he  is  both  able 
and  willing  to  do  for  you  exceeding  abundantly,  above  all  that  you  ask 
or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  you. 

While,  therefore,  we  caution  you  against  disorder  and  confusion,  and 
the  evils  which  have  been  noticed,  we  wish  you  to  be  equally  guarded 
against  lukewarmness  and  sloth.  The  religion  of  Christ  is  an  operative 
principle.  Faith  worketh  by  love.  Hence  we  read  of  the  work  of  faith, 
the  labor  of  love,  and  the  patience  of  hope.  Let  us  all  unite  in  fervently 
pleading  with  the  Lord  that  his  work  among  us  may  more  than  ever 
prosper,  and  that  his  truth  may  universally  prevail.  Your  expectation 
of  good  has  been  raised  by  what  you  have  lately  known  of  the  Savior's 
love.  You  hope  to  see  this  society  more  pure,  more  united,  and  more 
prosperous,  than  ever.  May  your  hope  be  speedily  realized  !  This  will 
exceedingly  rejoice  the  hearts  of  your  affectionate  brethren, 

The  Preachers  and  Leaders. 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


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